LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Chap.La'-KiCopyright No 

Shelf-M^, 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



Hand Book 

FOR 

American Citizens; 



THINGS EVERY PATRIOT SHOULD KNOW, 




BY ]^y 

Henry Mann, 

Author of " Ancient and Mediceval Republics. 



PUBLISHED BY 
THE CHRISTI^^nS" HEnA. 

Louis Klopsch, Proprietor, 
BIBLE HOUSE. NEW YORK 






Copyright 1895, 
By Louis Klopsch. 



Press and Bindery of 
HISTORICAL PUBLISHING CO» 

PHILADELPHIA. 



PREFACE, 



The object in issuing this manual is to place in 
the hands of the citizen a weapon which will arm 
him for the performance of his duties and the de- 
fence of his rights. The information herein con- 
tained has been carefully compiled from trust- 
worthy sources. It is not specially intended for 
the theorist ; it deals with the Republic as it has 
been and as it is, and with the Constitution and 
laws as they are, and not as this or that dreamer 
thinks that they ought to be. If knowledge is 
power, then the citizen who reads and studies this 
book will have power — power to do his part intel- 
ligently in upholding the institutions whose estab- 
lishment has cost so much, and on whose perma- 
nence the happiness of mankind may depend. The 
Old Flag appears all the dearer and more glorious 
the more we study the history which it represents, 
and the rights and privileges won for us by the men 
who bore it through the storms of many a battle- 
field. The American who fails to acquaint himself 
with the origin and character of American institu- 
tions, and with his own rights and obligations as 
a citizen and a sovereign is lacking in loyalty to 
his country, to his home and to himself. 



CONTENTS. 



Pabt L 

ORIGIN OP THE NATION. 
Chaxacter of the Colonists, 17 
Beconiing a Nation, ... 21 
Beginning of the Union, . 22 
Declaration of Independ- 
ence, 23 

Articles of Confederation, 28 
Washington's Resigna- 
tion, 39 

Demand for a Constitu- 
tion 41 

Constitution of the United 

States 43 

Washington's Farewell 
Address, 63 

Part II. 

THE MONROE DOCTRINK 

Not a Part of National 
Law 82 

Text of the Monroe Doc- 
trine, . 83 

Minister Anderson at 
Bogota, 84 

The Holy Alliance and the 
Monroe Doctrine, . . 86 

How Seward Enforced 
the Monroe Doctrine, 88 

The Monroe Doctrine To- 
day 91 



Pabt m. 



THE SLAVERY ISSUK 

Antagonism Between. 

North and South, . . 93 
Beginning of Negro 

Slavery 94 

The Missouri Compromise, 95 
The Wilmot Proviso, . . . 96 
Compromise of 1850, ... 98 
The Fugitive Slave Law, 98 
Kansas and Nebraska Act,106 
Buchanan's Hope— Lin- 
coln's Prophecy, ... 106 
Emancipation Proclama- 
tionf 108 



pakt rv. 

THE TARIFF ISSUE. 

As Old as the Union, ... Ill 

Tariff Legislation 113 

The Tariff After the War,114 
Becomes the Leading Is- 
sue, 11* 

The Wilson Tariff Law, .116 
Tariff Rates Compared, .117 
Reciprocity, llfl 



(13) 



Pap^ I. 
THE ORIGIN OF THE NATION. 

Character of the Colonists. 

To comprehend with intelligence the rights and 
obligations of citizenship, and the political condi- 
tions under which we live, it is necessary to glance 
back to the origin of American institutions. The 
American Republic did not spring into being sud- 
denly, like Minerva from the brain of Jove. The 
origin of our nation and of its fundamental laws 
must be sought far back in the ages. Their root 
was in that English middle class, removed alike 
from noble and from serf, which retained and cul- 
tivated throughout every vicissitude of civil and 
religious revolution the sturdy and homely virtues 
of their ancestry. The spirit which enabled the 
founders of these States to overcome every obstacle 
which English jealousy and savage hostility could 
place in their way, was the spirit which our Ger- 
manic ancestors displayed when they battled for 
their liberties under Arminius ; it was the spirit of 
the barons at Runnymede and of the seamen who 
confronted the Armada. The men who fashioned 
the rude beginnings of American nationality were 
chiefly Englishmen of the seventeenth century, un- 
tainted by the corruption of the court, deeply im- 
bued with religious sentiment and with a high 
esteem for secular learning, in which indeed many 
of them were thoroughly proficient. While they 
loved freedom they detested anarchy, and had 
the strongest respect even for the technicalities of 
law. ' 

(17) 



i8 HAND BOOK FOK 

Much has been said of the religious intolerance 
which some of the early settlers — especially the 
Puritans — displayed toward dissenters from the re- 
ligious creed of the majority. As to this it ought 
to be sufficient to state that the Puritan colonies 
did not invite promiscuous immigration any more 
than a religious community of the present day 
throws open its doors to strangers irrespective of 
their religious belief. The Puritan communities 
were intended for Puritans only, and all others 
were trespassers. That this was the Puritan view 
was shown by the declaration of the General Court 
of Massachusetts Bay, to the effect that the Quakers 
who had been put to death, when they returned 
after banishment from the colony, were guilty of 
suicide. Of course, in this enlightened age, such 
an explanation appears grotesquely inadequate, but 
it shows that the Puritans were not cruel for cruel- 
ty 's sake. They had sailed thousands of miles to 
worship God in their own way, without intrusion 
or molestation, and they resented molestation after 
the fashion of the century in which they lived. If 
their course was tyrannical, it was tyranny very 
different in degree from that of the persecutors in 
England, who drove Englishmen from their homes 
because they would not conform to the established 
creed. However the early settl ers of New England 
were not all averse to religious libei'ty. Rhode 
Island gave a lively example of order combined 
with complete freedom of conscience, no member 
of the community founded by Roger Williams 
and his associates being under any compulsion 
whatever as to the profession or practice of reli- 
gion. 

It should be remembered that other religious ele- 
ments, beside Puritan and Pilgrim, had their part 
in the early settlements — the Quakers in Pennsyl- 
vania, the Huguenots in South Carolina and the 
Roman Catholics in Maryland. Some attempt has 
been made to claim for the last-mentioned the 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 19 

credit which really belongs to the founders of 
Rhode Island, of making religious freedom an ori- 
ginal feature of their colonial laws. The obvious 
fact is that in the condition of English feeling at 
that time toward the Pope and his spiritual sub- 
jects, Roman Catholics would not have been per- 
mitted to persecute Protestants on any soil subject 
to the English crown, and in addition the so-called 
toleration in Maryland was not toleration at all, as 
compared with the complete liberty which pre- 
vailed in Rhode Island ; the Maryland statutes 
providing, for instance, that any person speaking 
disrespectfully of the mother of Christ should have 
the tongue bored with a red-hot iron. The Mary- 
land claim to precedence over New England in rec- 
ognizing the rights of conscience will not stand 
the test of impartial examination. That torch was 
lighted on the shores of Narragansett, not Chesa- 
peake Bay. 

The religious element did not enter largely into 
the settlement of colonies other than those already 
named. The thrifty Dutch intended to use New 
Amsterdam for a trading post ; the Virginia colo- 
nists were adventurers, and Carolina was designed to 
be the field of an absurd scheme of government, 
conceived in the brain of Locke. The object of 
William Penn in settling Pennsylvania was more 
humanitarian than religious, and at the same time 
not unmingled with a desire for personal aggran- 
dizement. 

The American colonists were Englishmen, and 
had no desire for or thought of political separation 
from the mother country. Of course I include in 
this designation the Dutch, the German, the 
Swedish, French and any other alien settlers who 
were politically absorbed by the English. The 
colonists considered themselves entitled to all of an 
Englishman's rights and privileges, and those of 
New England were earnest and even aggressive 
in asserting their rights. The influence of New 



20 HAND BOOK FOR 

Eugland upon the destinies of Old England was 
already apparent, while the generation which landed 
at Plymouth and Boston remained in its prime. The 
sympathy between the exiled dissenters and their 
brethren at home was warm and energetic, and it 
might be said that the first English Revolution — 
the uprising of the English middle class against 
the tyranny of King and Church — had its blowpipe 
in Massachusetts. Nevertheless the feeling of the 
colonists, down to the period of the Revolution, was 
always loyal and friendly toward the British con- 
nection, and even in Massachusetts there was very 
little public expression of disloyalty. Looking 
over the newspapers of the earlier years in the lat- 
ter half of the eighteenth century, I have been 
surprised to note the adulatory language used re- 
garding the king and crown of Great Britain. It 
is clear that only the gravest oppression could have 
driven the colonists to sever the ties which bound 
them to England, and that but for the madness 
which possessed George III. and his advisers the 
colonies would have remained a part of the British 
empire. 

It is a mistake, therefore, to suppose that the 
American Revolution had its conception in a desire 
for absolute independence. The colonists simply 
resisted the withdrawal and denial of rights which 
belonged to them as British subjects. The Revolu- 
tion had been in progress for some time before it 
became a war for independence. At first it was 
only armed resistance to oppression. General 
Washington, when he commanded at Cambridge, 
regarded his own forces as in once sense British, 
and spoke of his antagonivSts as " the ministerial 
troops." Even then George III., by timely and 
reasonable concessions, might have saved America 
for Great Britain, and it is to be noted that, when 
the time came to declare independence, some who 
had been most earnest patriots up to that limit, 
refused to cast their lot with their countrymen. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 21 

Becoming a Nation. 

When the colonies threw off the British yoke, 
the change was accompanied by no local changes of 
serious moment. Each colony already had its 
local government, the chief of which was either 
appointed by the king, as in New York, or elected 
by the colonists themselves, as in Rhode Island. 
The machinery of local government was perfect in 
itself, and sufficiently democratic to be readily 
adapted to the new conditions. The colony be- 
came a State, with a legislature and officials sub- 
stantially as before, but no longer acknowledging 
allegiance to the crown of Great Britain. This 
state of affairs was in one sense a great help and in 
another a great hindrance to the cause of indepen- 
dence. The local machinery of government pro- 
ceeding without clash or disorder, was useful in 
organizing support for the general cause, and in 
proving to the people that the royal guardianship 
had not been necessary to their welfare — that it 
had been potent only for evil. On the other hand 
the division of pov^er among so many different 
States, each a centre of authority and jealous of its 
recently acquired sovereignty, tended to hamper 
and embarrass the military arm of the nation. Had 
the first French Republic been divided into as 
many States as there were provinces in old France, 
instead of being directed by that relentless and 
terrible Convention, it could surely not have pre- 
sented the fierce and successful resistance to em- 
battled Europe which it did present. In the late 
Southern Confederacy, notwithstanding that it was 
founded on the cardinal doctrine of State's Rights, 
the central government at Richmond soon saw that 
the recognition of State sovereignty was incom- 
patible with effective and concentrated military 
effort, and the Confederacy became a military des- 
potism, the State governments retaining only the 
shadow of power. Had Washington not been 



22 HAND BOOK FOR 

possessed of nearly superhuman fortitude and dis- 
cretion, the jealousy and selfishness of the con- 
federated States might have defeated the c 
which he carried to a providential conclusion. 



cause 



Beginning of the Union. 

The American Union had its beginning on Mon- 
day the fifth of September, 1774, when there as- 
sembled at Carpenter's Hall, in the city of Phila- 
delphia, a number of men who had been chosen 
and appointed by the several colonies in North 
America to hold a Congress for the purpose of dis- 
cussing the grievances imputed against the mother- 
country. This Congress resolved on the next day 
that each colony should have one vote only. On 
Tuesday, the second of July, 1776, the Congress 
resolved, " That these United Colonies are, and of 
right ought to be, Free and Independent States," 
etc., etc. ; and on Thursday, the fourth of July, the 
whole Declaration of Independence having been 
agreed upon, it was publicly read to the people. 
Shortly after, on the ninth of September, it was 
resolved that the words " United Colonies" should 
be no longer used, and that the " United States 
OF America " should thenceforward be the style 
and title of the Unioa On Saturday, the fifteenth 
of November, 1777, ^ Articles of Confederation 
and Perpetual Uniou of the United States of 
America" were agreed to by the State delegates, 
subject to the ratification of the State Legislatures 
severally. Eight of the States ratified these articles 
on the ninth of July, 1778 ; one on the twenty-first 
of July ; one on the twenty-fourth of July ; one on 
the twenty-sixth of November of the same year ; 
one on the twenty-second of February, 1779 ; and 
the last one on the first of March, 17S1. Pler'e was 
a bond of union between thirteen independent 
States, whose delegates in Congress legislated for 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 23 

the general welfare, and executed certain powers, 
so far as they were permitted by the articles afore- 
said. 

As the Articles of Confederation were preceded 
by the Declaration of Independence, that — the 
greatest document of human origin since the be- 
ginning of the world — should be given first. It is 
as follows : 

Declaration of Independence, 

in congress — thursday, july 4, 1 776. 

Agreeably to the order of the day, the Congress re- 
solved itself into a committee of the whole, to take into 
their further consideration the Declaration ; and after 
some time the President resumed the chair, and Mr. Har- 
rison reported that the committee had agreed to a decla- 
ration, which they desired him to report. (The com- 
mittee consisted of Jefferson, Franklin, John Adams, 
Sherman and R. R. Livingston.) 

The Declaration being read, was agreed to, as follows : 

A Declaration 

BY THE representatives OF THE UNITED STATES OF 
AMERICA, IN congress ASSEMBLED, 

When, in the course of human events, it becomes 
necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands 
which have connected them with another, and to assume, 
among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal 
station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God 
entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of man- 
kind requires that they should declare the causes which 
impel them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men 
are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator 
with certain inalienable rights ; that among these, are 
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure 
these rights, governments are instituted among men, de- 
riving their just powers from the consent of the governed : 



24 HAND BOOK FOR 

that, whenever any form of government becomes de- 
structive of these ends, it is the right of the people ^o 
aher or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, 
laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing 
its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely 
to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, 
will dictate that governments long established, should not 
be changed for light and transient causes; and, accord- 
ingly, all experience hath shown, that mankind are more 
disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right 
themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are ac- 
customed. But, when a long train of abuses and usurpa- 
tions, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design 
to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, 
it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to pro- 
vide new guards for their future security. Such has been 
the patient sufferance of these colonies, and such is now 
the necessity which constrains them to alter their former 
systems of government. The history of the present 
King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and 
usurpations, all having, in direct object, the establishment 
of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, 
let facts be submitted to a candid world : 

lie has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome 
and necessary for the public good. 

He has forbidden his Governors to pass laws of imme- 
diate and pressing importance, unless suspended in ihetr 
operation till his assent should be obtained ; and when so 
suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. 

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommoda- 
tion of large districts of people, unless those people would 
relinquish the right of representation in the legislature ; 
a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants 
only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places un- 
usual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of 
their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them 
into compliance with his measures. 

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for 
opposing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights 
oif the people. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 25 

He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions 
to cause others to be elected ; whereby the legislative' 
powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the 
people at large for their exercise ; the state remaining, in 
the meantime, exposed to all the danger of invasion from 
without, and convulsions within. 

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these 
states, for that purpose, obstructing the laws for natural- 
ization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage 
their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new 
appropriations of lands. 

He has obstructed the administration of justice by 
refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary 
powers. "^ ^ 

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for 
the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of 
their salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent 
hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out 
their substance. 

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standine 
armies, without the consent of our legislature. 

He has affiscted to render the military independent of 
and superior to the civil power. 

He has combined, with others, to subject us to a iuris- 
diction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged 
by our laws ; giving his assent to their acts of pretended 
legislation : ^ 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us- 
For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment! 
for any murders whicu they should commit on the inhabi* 
tants of these states ; 

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world- 
l- or imposing taxes on us without our consent • * 

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial 
by jury; 

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pre- 
tended offences ; *^ 

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a 
neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary 



26 HAND BOOK FOR 

government, and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render 
it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing 
the same absolute rule into these colonies ; 

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most 
valuable laws, and altering, fundamentally, the powers of 
our governments ; 

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring 
themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all 
cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out 
of his protection, and waging war against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt 
our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. 

He is, at this time, transporting large armies of foreign 
mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, 
and tyranny, already begun, with circumstances of cruelty 
and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, 
and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive 
on the high seas, to bear arms against their countiy, to 
become the executioners of their Iriends and brethren, or 
to fall themselves by their hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and 
has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our fron- 
tiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of 
warfare is an undistinguished destruction, of all ages, 
sexes, and conditions. 

In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned 
for redress, in the most humble terms ; our repeated peti- 
tions have been answered only by repeated injury. A 
prince, whose character is thus markeil by every act 
which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free 
people. 

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British 
brethren. We have warned them, from time to time, of 
attempts made by their legislature to extend an unwar- 
rantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them 
of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement 
Vjere. We have appealed to their r.arive justice and mag- 
nanimuy, and we have conjured them, by the ties of ©ur 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 



27 



common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which 
would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspon- 
dence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice 
and consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the 
necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, 
as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war — in peace, 
friends. 

We, therefore, the representatives of the UNITED 
STATES OF AMERICA, in GENERAL CONGRESS 
assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World 
for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and 
by the authority of the good people of these colonies, 
solemnly publish and declare. That these United Colonies 
are, and of right ought to be. Free and Independent 
States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to 
the British crown, and that all political connection be- 
tween them and the State of Great Britain, is, and ought 
to be, totally dissolved; and that, as FREE AND 
INDEPENDENT STA TES, they have full power 
to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish 
commerce, and to do all other acts and things which 
INDEPENDENT STATES may of right to do. And, 
for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance 
on the protection of DIVINE PROVIDENCE, we mu- 
tually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and 
our sacred honor. 

The foregoing Declaration was, by order of Congress, 
engrossed, and signed by the following members : 

JOHN PIANCOCK. 

New Hampslilre . Rhode Island. 

JOSIAH BaRTLETT, 

William Whipple, Stephen Hopkins, 

Matthew Thornton. William Ellery. 

Connediait. New York. 

Roger Sherman, William Floyd, 

Samuel Huntington, Philip Livingston, 

William Williams, Francis Lewis, 

Oliver Wolcott. Lewis Morris. 



28 



HAND BOOK FOR 



A'ew Jersey. 

Richard Stockton, 
John Witherspoon, 
Francis Hopkinson, 
John Hart, 
Abraham Clark. 

Pennsylvania. 

Robert Morris, 
Benjamin Rush, 
Benjamin Franklin, 
John Morton, 
George Clymer, 
James Smith, 
George Taylor, 
James Wilson, 
George Ross. 

Massachusetts Bay. 

Samuel Adams, 
John Adams, 
Robert Treat Paine, 
Elbridge Gerry. 

Delaiuare. 

C^sar Rodney, 
George Read, 
Thomas M'Kean. 



Maryland. 
Samuel Chase, 
William Paca, 
Thomas Stone, 
James Carroll, of Carroll, 
ton. 

Virginia. 
George Wythe, 
Richard Henry Lee, 
Thomas Jefferson, 
Benjamin Harrison, 
Thomas Nelson, Jun., 
Francis Lightfoot Lee, 
Carter Braxton. 

North Carolina. 
William Hooper, 
Joseph Hewes, 
John Penn. 

South Carolina. 
Edward Rutledge, 
Thomas Heyward, Jun., 
Arthur Middleton. 

Georgia. 
Button Gwinnett, 
Lyman Hall, 
George Walton. 



Artici^es of Confederation. 

The Articles of Confederation were adopted by 
Congress about two years after the Declaration of 
Independence, and were intended to bind the States 
together for an effective prosecution of the war, as 
well as to insure their perpetual union for the com- 
mon welfare and defence. The independence of 
the United States had been acknowledged by 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 29 

France in the beginning of the year, and the Amer- 
ican cause had been made more hopeful by Wash- 
ington's victory at Monmouth. Although com- 
monly known as Articles of Confederation, it 
should be kept in mind that their full designation, 
as already stated, was "Articles of Confederation 
and Perpetual Union." They were as follows : 

In Congress, July 8, 1778. 

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND PERPETUAL UNION 

Between the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts 
Bay^ Rhode Island and Providence Plantations^ Con- 
necticut , New Yorky New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Dela- 
ware^ Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South 
Carolina, and Georgia. 

Art. I. The style of this confederacy shall be, " The 
United States of America P 

Art. 2. Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and 
independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and rights 
which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to 
the United States in Congress assembled. 

Art. 3. The said states hereby severally enter into a 
firm league of friendship with each other, for their com- 
mon defence, the security of their liberties, and their 
mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist 
each Other against all force offered to, or attacks made 
upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sover- 
eignty, trade, or any other pretence whatever. 

Art. 4. \ I. The better to secure and perpetuate mutual 
friendship and intercourse among the people of the differ- 
ent states in this union, the free inhabitants of each of 
these states, paupers — vagabonds, and fugitives from jus- 
tice excepted — shall be entitled to all privileges and im- 
munities of free citizens in the several states : and the 
people of each state shall have free ingress and egress to 
and from any other state, and shall enjoy therein all the 
privileges of trade and commerce, subject to the same 
duties, impositions, and restrictions, as the inhabitants 
thereof respectively ; provided, that such restrictions shall 



30 HAND BOOK FOR 

not extend so far as to prevent the removal of property 
imported into any state, to any other state, of which the 
owner is an inhabitant ; provided also, that no imposition, 
duties, or restriction, shall be laid by any state on the pro- 
perty of the United States, or either of them. 

^ 2. If any person, guilty of, or charged with treason, 
felony, or other high misdemeanor, in any stale, shall flee 
from justice, and be found in any of the United States, he 
shall, upon the demand of the governor or executive 
power of the state from which he fled, be delivered up 
and removed to the stale having jurisdiction of his offence. 

^ 3. Full faith and credit shall be given, in each of 
these states, to the records, acts, and judicial proceedings 
of the courts and magistrates of every other state. 

Art. 5.^1. For the more convenient management of 
the general interests of the United States, delegates shall 
be annually appointed in such manner as the legislature 
of each state shall direct, to meet in Congress on the first 
Monday in November in every year, with a power re- 
served to each state to recall its delegates; or any of them, 
at any time within the year, and to send others in their 
stead, for the remainder of the year. 

^ 2. No state shall be represented in Congress by less 
than two, nor more than seven members ; and no person 
shall be capable of being a delegate for more than three 
years, in any term of six years ; nor shall any person, 
being a delegate, be capable of holding any ofifice under 
the United States, for which he, or any other for his 
benefit, receives any salary, fees, or emolument, of any 
kmd, 

^ 3. Each state shall maintain its own delegate in a 
meeting of the states, and while they act as members of 
the committee of these states. 

§ 4. In determining questions in the United States in 
Congress assembled, each state shall have one vote. 

^ 5. Freedom of speech and debate in Congress shall 
not be impeached or questioned in any court or place out 
of Congress, and the members of Congress shall be pro- 
tected in their persons from arrests and imprisonments 
during the time of their going to and from, and attend- 



AMERICAN" CITIZENS. 31 

ance on Congress, except for treason, felony, or breach of 
the peace. 

Art, 6. ^ I . No state, without the consent of the United 
States in Congress assembled, shall send any embassy to, 
or receive any embassy from, or enter into any conference, 
agreement, alliance, or treaty with any king, prince, or 
state, nor shall any person holding any ofifice of profit or 
trust under the United States, or any of them, accept of 
any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind what- 
ever, from any king, prince, or foreign state ; nor shall the 
United States in Congress assembled, or any of them, 
grant any title of nobility. 

^ 2. No two or more states shall enter into any treaty, 
confederation, or alliance whatever, between them, with- 
out the consent of the United States in Congress assem- 
bled, specifying accurately the purposes for which the 
same is to be entered into, and how long it shall continue. 

^ 3. No state shall lay any imposts or duties which 
may interfere with any stipulations in treaties entered into 
by the United States, in Congress assembled, with any 
king, prince, or state, in pursuance of any treaties already 
proposed by Congress to the courts of France and Spain. 

^ 4. No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace 
by any state, except such number only as shall be deemed 
necessary by the United States in Congress assembled, for 
the defence of such state, or its trade ; nor shall any body 
of forces be kept up by any state, in time of peace, ex- 
cept such number only as, in the judgment of the United 
States in Congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite 
to garrison the fo^ts necessary for the defence of such 
state ; but every state shall always keep up a well regu- 
lated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and ac- 
coutred, and shall provide and constantly have ready for 
use, in public stores, a due number of field-pieces and 
tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammunition, and 
camp equipage. 

§ 5- No state shall engage in any war without the con- 
sent of the United States in Congress assembled, unless 
such state be actually invaded by enemies, or shall have 
received certain advice of a resolution being formed by 



32 HAND BOOK FOR 

some nation of Indians to invade such state, and the 
danger is so imminent as not to admit of delay till the 
United States in Congress assembled can be consulted , 
nor shall any state grant commissions to any ships or ves- 
sels of war, nor letters of marque or reprisal, except it be 
after a declaration of war by the United States in Con- 
gress assembled, and then only against the kingdom or 
state, and the subjects thereof, against which war has 
been so declared, and under such regulations as shall be 
established by the United States in Congress assembled, 
unless such state be infested by pirates, in which case 
vessels of war may be fitted out for that occasion, and kept 
so long as the danger shall continue, or until the United 
States in Congress assembled shall determine otherwise. 

Art. 7. When land forces are raised by any state for the 
common defence, all officers of or under the rank of 
colonel, shall be appointed by the legislature of each state 
respectively by whom such forces shall be raised, or in 
such manner as such state shall direct, and all vacancies 
shall be filled up by the state which first made the appoint- 
ment. 

Art. 8. All charges of war, and all other expenses that 
shall be incurred for the common defence or general wel- 
fare, and allowed by the United States in Congress as- 
sembled, shall be defrayed out of a common treasury, 
which shall be supplied by the several states, in propor- 
tion to the value of all land within each state, granted to 
or surveyed for any person, as such land and the build- 
ings and improvements thereon shall be estimated, accord- 
ing to such mode as the United States in Congress as- 
sembled shall, from time to time, direct and appoint. The 
taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied 
by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the 
several states within the time agreed upon by the United 
States in Congress assembled. 

Art. 9. ^ I. The United States in Congress assem- 
bled shall have the sole and exclusive right and power of 
determinmg on peace and war, except in the cases men- 
tioned in the sixth article, of sending and receiving am- 
bassadors ; entering into freatips and alliances, provided 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 33 

that no treaty of commerce shall be made, whereby the 
legislative power of the respective states shall be re- 
strained from imposing such imposts and duties on for- 
eigners, as their own people are subjected to, or from 
prohibiting the exportation or importation of any species 
of goods or commodities whatsoever; of establishing 
rules for deciding in all cases what captures on land or 
water shall be legal, and in what manner prizes taken by 
land or naval forces in the service of the United States 
shall be divided or appropriated ; of granting letters of 
marque and reprisal in times of peace ; appointing courts 
for the trial of piracies and felonies committed on the 
high seas ; and establishing courts for receiving and de- 
termining finally appeals in all cases of captures ; provided 
that no member of Congress shall be appointed a judge of 
any of the said courts. 

§ 2. The United States in Congress assembled shall also 
be the last resort on appeal in all disputes and differences 
now subsisting, or that hereafter may arise between two or 
more states concerning boundary, jurisdiction, or any other 
cause whatever ; which authority shall always be exercised 
in the manner following : Whenever the legislative or 
executive authority or lawful agent of any state in contro- 
versy with another, shall present a petition to Congress, 
statmg the matter in question, and praying for a hearing, 
notice thereof shall be given by order of Congress to the 
legislative or executive authority of the other state in con- 
troversy, and a day assigned for the appearance of the 
parties by their lawful agents, who shall then be directed 
to appoint, by joint consent, commissioners or judges to 
constitute a court foi hearing and determining the matter 
in question; but if they cannot agree, Congress shall 
name three persons out of each of the United States, and 
from the list of such persons each party shall alternately 
strike out one, the petitioners beginning, until the number 
shall be reduced to thirteen ; and from that number not 
less than seven, nor more than nine names, as Con- 
gress shall direct, shall, in the presence of Congress, 
be drawn out by lot ; and the persons whose names shall 
be so drawn, or any five of them, shall be com- 



34 HAND BOOK FOR 

missioners or judges, to hear and finally determine 
the controversy, so always as a major part of the judges, 
who shall hear the cause, shall agree in the determination ; 
and if either party shall neglect to attend at the day 
appointed, without showing reasons which Congress shall 
judge sufficient, or being present, shall refuse to strike, 
the Congress shall proceed to nominate three persons out 
of each state, and the secretary of Congress shall strike in 
behalf of such party absent or refusing; and the judgment 
and sentence of the court, to be appomted in the manner 
before prescribed, shall be final and conclusive ; and if any 
of the parties shall refuse to submit to the authority of 
such court, or to appear or defend their claim or cause, 
the court shall nevertheless proceed to pronounce sentence, 
or judgment, which shall in like manner be final and de- 
cisive; the judgment or sentence and other proceedings 
being in either case transmitted to Congress, and lodged 
among the acts of Congress, for the security of the parties 
concerned : provided, that every commissioner, before he 
sits in judgment, shall take an oath, to be administered by 
one of the judges of the supreme or superior court of the 
state where the cause shall be tried, " well and truly to 
hear and determine the matter in question, according to 
the best of his judgment, without favor, affection, or hope 
of reward." Provided, also, that no state shall be 
deprived of territory for the benefit of the United States. 

^ 3. All controversies concerning the private right of 
soil claimed under different grants of two or more states, 
whose jurisdiction, as they may respect such lands, and 
the states which passed such grants are adju'^ted, the said 
grants or either of them being at the same time claimed 
to have originated antecedent to such settlement of juris- 
diction, shall, on the petition of either party to the Con- 
gress of the United States, be finally determined, as near 
as may be, in the same manner as is before prescribed for 
deciding disputes respecting territorial jurisdiction between 
different states. 

§ 4. The United States in Congress assembled shall 
also have the sole and exclusive right and power of reg- 
ulating the alloy and value of coin struck by their own 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 35 

authority, or by that of the respective states ; fixing the 
standard of weights and measures throughout the United 
States ; regulating the trade, and managing all affairs with 
the Indians, not members of any of the states; provided 
that the legislative right of any state, within its own limits, 
be not infringed or violated; establishing and regulating 
post offices from one state to another throughout all the 
United States, and exacting such postage on the papers 
passing through the same, as may be requisite to defray 
the expenses of the said office ; appointing all officers of 
the land forces in the sc. vice of the United States, except- 
ing regimental officers ; appointing all the officers of the 
naval forces, and commissioning all officers whatever in 
the service of the United States; making rules for the 
government and regulation of the said land and naval 
forces, and directing their operations. 

^ 5. The United States in Congress assembled shall 
have authority to appoint a committee to sit in the recess 
of Congress, to be denominated, " A Coinmittee of the 
States,^^ and to consist of one delegate from each state; 
and to appoint such other committees and civil officers as 
may be necessary for managmg the general affairs of the 
United States under their direction ; to appoint one of 
their number to preside; provided that no person be 
allowed to serve in the office of president more than one 
year in any term of three years ; to ascertain the neces- 
sary sums of money to be raised for the service of the 
United States, and to appropriate and apply the same for 
defraying the public expenses ; to borrow money or emit 
bills on the credit of the United States, transmitting every 
half year to the respective states an account of the sums 
of money so borrowed or emitted ; to build and equip a 
navy ; to agree upon the number of land forces, and to 
make requisitions from each state for its quota, in propor- 
tion to the number of white inhabitants in such state, which 
requisition shall be binding; and thereupon the legislature 
of each state shall appoint the regimental officers, raise 
the men, clothe, arm, and equip them, in a soldier-like 
manner, at the expense of the United States ; and the 
officers and men so clothed, armed, and equipped, shall 



30 HAND BOOK FOR 

march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed 
on by the United States in Congress assembled ; but if the 
United States in Congress assembled shall, on considera- 
tion of circumstances, judge proper that any stale should 
not raise men, or should raise a smaller number than its 
quota, and that any other state should raise a greater 
number of men than the quota thereof, such extra number 
shall be raised, officered, clothed, armed, and equipped in 
the same manner as the quota of such state, unless the 
legislature of such state shall judge that such extra number 
cannot be safely spared out of the same, in vhich case 
they shall raise, officer, clothe, arm, and equip, as many 
of such extra number as they judge can be safely spared, 
and the officers and men so clothed, armed, and equipped, 
shall march to the place appointed, and within the time 
agreed on by the United States in Congress assembled. 

§ 6. The United States in Congress assembled shall 
never engage in a war, nor grant letters of marque and 
reprisal in time of peace, nor enter into any treaties or 
alliances, nor coin money, nor regulate the value thereof, 
nor ascertain the sums and expenses necessary for the 
defence and welfare of the United States, or any of them, 
nor emit bills, nor borrow money on the credit of the 
United States, nor appropriate money, nor agree upon the 
number of vessels of war to be built or purchased, or the 
number of land or sea forces to be raised, nor appoint a 
commander-in-chief of the army or navy, unless nine 
states assent to the same : nor shall a question on any 
other point, except for adjourning from day to day, be 
determined, unless by the votes of a majority of the United 
States in Congress assembled. 

§ 7. The Congress of the United States shall have 
power to adjourn to any time within the year, and to any 
place within the United States, so that no period of ad- 
journment be for a longer duration than the space of six 
months, and shall publish the journal of their proceedings 
monthly, except such parts thereof relating to treaties, 
alliances, or military operations, as in their judgment 
require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the delegates 
of each state, on any question, shall be entered on the 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 37 

journal, when it is desired by any delegate ; and the del- 
egates of a state, or any of them, at his or their request, 
shall be furnished with a transcript of the said journal, 
except such parts as are above excepted, to lay before the 
legislatures of the several states. 

Art. lo. The committee of the states, or any nine of 
them, shall be authorized to execute, in the recess of Con- 
gress, such of the powers of Congress as the United 
States, in Congress assembled, by the consent of nine 
slates, shall, Irom time to time, think expedient to vest 
them with ; provided that no power be delegated to the 
said committee, for the exercise of which, by the Articles 
of Confederation, the voice of nine states, in the Congress 
of the United States assembled, is requisite. 

Art. II. Canada acceding to this confederation, and 
joining in the measures of the United States, shall be 
admitted into and entitled to all the advantages of this 
Union : But no other colony shall be admitted into the 
same, unless such admission be agreed to by nine states. 

Art. 12. All bills of credit emitted, moneys borrowed, 
and debts contracted by or under the authority of Con- 
gress, before the assembling of the United States, in pur- 
suance of the present confederation, shall be deemed and 
considered as a charge against the United States, for pay- 
ment and satisfaction whereof the said United States and 
the public faith are hereby solemnly V'ledged. 

Art. 13. Every state shall abide by the determination 
of the United States in Congress assembled, in all ques- 
tions which by this confederation are submitted to ihem. 
And the articles of this confederation shall be inviolably 
observed by every s'ate, and^the union shall be perpetual; 
nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in 
any of them; unless such alteration be agreed to in a 
Congress of the United States, and be afterward con- 
firmed by the legislature of every state. 

And whereas it hath pleased the great Governor of the 
world to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respec- 
tively represent in Congress to approve of, and to author- 
ize us to ratify the said Articles of Confederation and 
Perpetual Union, Know ye, that we, the undersigned del- 



38 



HAND BOOK FOR 



egates, by virtue of the power and authority to us given 
for that purpose, do by these presents, in the name and in 
behalf of our respective constituents, fully and entirely 
ratify and confirm each and every of the said Articles of 
Confederation and Perpetual Union, and all and singular 
the matters and things therein contained. And we do 
further solemnly plight and engage the faith of our 
respective constituents, that they shall abide by the 
determinations of the United States in Congress assem- 
bled, in all questions which by the said confederation are 
submitted to them ; and that the articles thereof shall be 
inviolably observed by the states we respectively repre- 
sent, and that the union shall be perpetual. In witness 
whereof, we have hereunto set our hands in Congress. 

Done at Philadelphia, in the state of Pennsylvania, the 
9th day of July, in the year of our Lord 1778, and in the 
third year of the Independence of America. 



New Hampshh'e. 
JOSIAH Bartlett, 
John Wentworth, Jun. 

Massachusetts Bay, 
John Hancock, 
Samuel Adams, 
Elbridge Gerry, 
Francis Dana, 
James Lovel, 
Samuel Holten. 

Rhode Island, dr'r. 
William Ellery, 
Henry Marchant, 
John Collins. 

Connecticut. 
Roger Sherman, 
Samuel Huntington, 
Oliver Wolcott, 
Titus Hosmer, 
Andrew Adams. 



New York. 
James Duane, 
Fra. Lewis, 
William Duer, 
Gouv. Morris. 

Nfew Jersey, 
Jno. Witherspoon, 
"Nath. Scudder. 

Pennsylvania. 
Robert Morris, 
D.\niel Roberdeau, 
JoNA Bayard Smith, 
William Clingan, 
Joseph Reed. 

Delatuare. 
Thomas M'Kean, 
John Dickinson, 
Nicholas Van Dyke. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 39 

Maryland. CoNS. HARNETT, 

JOHN HANSON, JNO. WiLLIAMS. 

Daniel Carroll. South Carolina. 

. . Henry Laurens, 

Virginia. ^^^ Henry Drayton, 

Richard Henry Lee, j^q. Matthews, 

John Banister, Richard Hutson, 

Thomas Adams, Thos. Heyward, Jun. 
Jno. Harvie, ^ 

Francis Lightfoot Lee. Ueorgta. 

Jno. Walton, 

North Carolina. Edward Telfair, 

John Penn, Edward Langworthy. 

Washington Resigns His Commission. 

It is not the purpose of this book to follow the 
American Revolution throughout its ever memor- 
able course of struggle, of triumph, of midnight 
darkness and glorious sunburst. With the conclu- 
sion of the war we come to another declaration 
which should be kept ever present in the minds of 
Americans— Washington's speech on resigning his 
commission. Washington took leave of his officers 
and army at New York, and repaired to Annapolis, 
Md., where Congress was then in session. On the 
20th of December, 1783, he transmitted a letter to 
that body, apprising them of his arrival, with the 
intention of resigning his commission, and desiring 
to know whether it would be most agreeable to 
receive it in writing or at an audience. It was im- 
mediately resolved that a public entertainment be 
given him on the 22d, and that he be admitted to 
an audience on the 23d, at twelve o'clock. Accord- 
ingly he attended at that time, and, being seated, 
the President informed him that Congress was 
prepared to receive his communications. Where- 
upon he arose, and spoke as follows : 

" Mr. President : The great events on which my 
resignation depended having at length taken place, I have 



40 HAND BOOK FOR 

now the honor of offering my sincere congratulations to 
Congress, and of presenting myself before them, to sur- 
render into their hands the trust committed to me, and to 
claim the indulgence of retiring from the service of my 
country. 

" Happy in the confirmation of our independence and 
sovereignty, and pleased vs^ith the opportunity afforded the 
United States of becoming a respectable nation, I resign 
with satisfaction the appointment I accepted with diffi- 
dence: a diffidence in my abilities to accomplish so 
arduous a task ; which however was superseded by a 
confidence in the rectitude of our cause, the support of 
the supreme power of the Union, and the patronage of 
Heaven. 

*' The successful termination of the war has verified the 
most sanguine expectations; and my gratitude for the 
interposition of Providence, and the assistance I have 
received from my countrymen, increases with every review 
of the momentous contest. 

" While I repeat my obligations to the army in general, 
I should do injustice to my own feelings not to acknowl- 
edge, in this place, the peculiar services and distinguished 
merits of the gentlemen who have been attached to my 
person during the war. It was impossible that the choice 
of confidential officers to compose my family should have 
been more fortunate. Permit me, sir, to recommend, in 
particular, those who have continued in the service to the 
present moment, as worthy of the favorable notice and 
patronage of Congress. 

"I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last 
act of my official life by commending the interests of our 
dearest country to the protection of Almighty God, and 
those who have the superintendence of them to His holy 
keeping. 

'* Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire 
from the great theatre of action, and bidding an affectionate 
farewell to this august body, under whose orders I have so 
long acted, I here offer my commission, and take my leave 
of all the employments of public life." 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 41 

Demand for a Constitution. 

It became apparent in a very few years that the 
Articles of Confederation were not sufficient to 
secure the establishment of a powerful and united 
government that could command order at home and 
respect abroad. The bond of union rested loosely 
on the several states, and ambitious men did not 
hesitate to imperil that bond, frail as it was, in the 
pursuit of their selfish aims. Great Britain affected 
to regard the discordant Americans with contempt, 
and it is said that the English king even began to 
entertain a hope that the time would come when 
Americans, weary of their experiment, would again 
seek shelter under the British flag. Sagacious men 
everywhere throughout the country saw the neces- 
sity for a Constitution that would create a nation in 
fact as well as in name. Chief Justice Story said 
of the government under the Articles of Confed- 
eration : "There was an utter want of all coercive 
authority to carry into effect its own constitutional 
measures This of itself was sufficient to destroy 
its whole efficiency as a superintendent government,, 
if that may be called a government which posse^-^^ed 
no one solid attribute of power. In truth Congrtv^s. 
possessed only the power of recommendation. 
Congress had no power to exact obedience, or 
punish disobedience of its ordinances ; they could 
neither impose fines, nor direct imprisonments, nor 
divest privileges, nor declare forfeitures, nor sus- 
pend refractory officers. There was no power to- 
exercise force." 

On the 2ist of February, 1787, Congress adopted 
the following resolution : 

" Whereas there is provision in the Articles of 
Confederation and Perpetual Union for making; 
alterations therein by the assent of a Congress of 
the United States, and of the legislatures of the 
several states; and, whereas, experience hath 
evinced that there are defects in the present Con- 



42 HAND BOOK FOR 

federation, as a mean to remedy which several of 
the states, and particularly the state of New York, 
by express instructions to their delegates in Con- 
gress, have suggested a Convention for the purposes 
expressed in the following resolution, and such 
Convention appearing to be the most probable 
mean of establishing in these states a firm national 
government — 

' * Resolved, That in the opinion of Congress it is 
expedient that on the second Monday in May next, 
a convention of delegates who shall have been 
appointed by the several states, be held at Phila- 
delphia, for the sole and express purpose of revising 
the Articles of Confederation, and reporting to 
Congress and the several legislatures such altera- 
tions and provisions therein, as shall, when agreed 
to in Congress and confirmed by the states, render 
the Federal Constitution adequate to the exigencies 
of government and the preservation of the Union." 

The day appointed b}' this resolution was the 
second Monday in May ; but the 25th of that 
month was the first day upon which a suflBcient 
number of members appeared to constitute a repre- 
sentation of a majority of the states. They then 
electee* George Washington their President, and 
proceeded to business. On the 17th of September, 
17P7, the Constitution was adopted by the Conven- 
tion, and subsequently ratified by Conventions of 
the several states, as follows : 

By Convention of Delaware, . . . 7th December, 1787. 

•* ** Pennsylvania, . 12th December, 1787. 

" " New Jersey, . . i8th December, 1787. 

" *' Georgia 2d January, 1788. 

" '* Connecticut, . . . 9th January, 1788. 

« « Massachusetts, . . 6lh February, 1788. 

" « Mary-land, .... 28th April, i'/88. 

« " South Carolina, . . . 23d May, 1788. 

** ** New Hampshire, . . 21st June, 1788. 

'« " Virginia, 26th June, 1788. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 43 

By Convention of New York, .... 26th July, 1 788. 

" North Carolina, 21st November, 1789. 

" " Rhode Island, . . . 29th May, 1790. 

Following is the Constitution of the United 
States, with the amendments, and the date of 
their adoption : 

THE CONSTITUTION 
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.* 

[Preamble.] 
We, the people of the United States, in order to fonn a 
more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic 
Tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote 
the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Lib- 
erty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and 
establish this Constitution for the United States of 
America. 

Article I. 
[the legislative department.] 
Section i. All legislative Powers herein granted shaU 
be vested m a Congress of the United States, which shall 
consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. 

Sec. 2. The House of Representatives shall be com- 
fjosed of Members chosen every second Year by the 
People of the several States, and the Electors in each 
State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors 
of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature. 

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have 
attained to the Age of twenty-five Years, and been seven 
Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, 
when elected, bean Inhabitants that State in which he 
shall be chosen. 

ranlt^u'i^^"^''^''n """P^ °'' ^^^ ""'^inal in punctuation, spelling, 
capitals etc —in al respects except the words and figures whicli 
are enclosca in brackets, and the reference marks 



44 



HAND BOOK FOR 



Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned 
among the several States which may be included within 
this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which 
shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of 
free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term 
of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of 
all other Persons.''^ The actual Enumeration shall be 
made within three Years after the first meeting of the 
Congress of the United States, and within every subse- 
quent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by 
Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not 
exceed one for everv thirty Thousand, but each State shall 
have at Least one Representative ; and until such enumera- 
tion shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be 
entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island 
and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five. New 
York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware 
one, Maryland six, Virginia ten. North Carolina five. South 
Carolina five, and Georgia three. 

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any 
State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs 
of Election to fill such Vacancies. 

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker 
and other officers ; f and shall have the sole power of 
Impeachment. 

Sec. 3. The Senate of the United States shall be com- 
posed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the 
Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall 
have one Vote. 

Immediately after they shall be assembled in Conse- 
quence of the first Election, they shall be divided as 
equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the 
Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expira- 
tion of the second Year, of the second Class at the 
Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third class at 
the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one-third may be 

* " Other persons " refers to slaves. See Amendments, Art. 
XIV , Sections i and 2. 

t The principal of these arc the clerk, sergeant-at-arms; door- 
keeper, and postmaster. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 45 

chosen every second year; and if Vacancies nappen by 
Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Leg- 
islature of any State, the Executive thereof may make 
temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the 
Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies. 

No person shall be a Senator who shall not have 
attamed to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years 
a Citizen of the Unhed States, and who shall not, when 
elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall 
be chosen. 

The Vice President of the United States shall be Presi- 
dent of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they 
be equally divided. 

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a 
President, pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice Presi- 
dent, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of 
the United States. 

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all 
Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall 
be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the 
United States is tried, the Chief Justice sliall preside: 
And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence 
of two thirds of the Members present. 

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend 
further than to removal from Office, and Disqualification 
to hold and enjoy any Office of Honor, Trust or Profit 
under the United States : but the Party convicted shall 
nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, 
Judgment and Punishment, according to Law. 

Sec. 4. The Times, Places and Manner of holding 
Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be pre- 
scribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the 
Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such 
Regulations, except as to the places of chusing Senators. 

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every 
Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in 
December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different 

Sec. 5. Each House shall be the Judge of the Elec- 
tions, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and 



46 HAND BOOK FOR 

a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Busi- 
ness ; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, 
and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent 
Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as 
each House may provide. 

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, 
punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with 
the ConcuiTcnce of two-thirds, expel a Member. 

Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, 
and from time to time publish the same, excepting such 
Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy ; and the 
Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any 
question shall, at the Desire of one-fifth of those Present, 
be entered on the Journal. 

Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, 
without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than 
three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the 
two Houses shall be sitting. 

Sec. 6. The Senators and Representatives shall re- 
ceive a Compensation* for their Services, to be ascer- 
tained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the 
United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, 
Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from 
Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their re- 
spective Houses, and in going to and returning from the 
same ; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, 
they shall not be questioned in any other Place. 

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time 
for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office 
under the Authority of the United States, which shall 
have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall 
have been increased during such time ; and no Person 
holding any Office under the United States, shall be a 
Member of either House during his Continuance in 
Office. 

Sec. 7. All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in 



♦The present compensation is $5,000 a year, and an allowance 
of 20 cents for every mile of travel to and from the national capi- 
tal. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 47 

the House of Representatives ; but the Senate may pro- 
pose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills. , 

Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Rep- 
resentatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a. 
Law, be presented to the President of the United States ; 
If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall returni 
it, with his Objections to the House in which it shall have 
originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on 
their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such 
Reconsideration two-thirds of that House shall agree to 
pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections 
to the other House, by which it shall likewise be recon- 
sidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that House it 
shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of 
Both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and 
the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill 
shall be entered on the Journal of each House respec- 
tively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President 
within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have 
been presented to him, the Same shall be a law, in like 
Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by 
their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it 
shall not be a Law. 

Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Con- 
currence of the Senate and House of Representatives 
may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) 
shall be presented to the President of the United States ; 
and before the same shall take Effect, shall be approved 
by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed 
by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representa- 
tives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed 
in the Case of a Bill. 

Sec. 8. The Congress shall have Power. 

To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, 
to pay the Debts and provide lor the common Defence 
and general Welfare of the United States ; but all Du- 
ties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the 
United States ; 

To borrow Money on the credit of the United States ; 

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among 
the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; 



48 HAND BOOK FOR 

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization,* and 
uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout 
the United States ; 

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of 
foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and 
Measures ; 

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the 
Securities and current Coin of the United States ; 

To establish Post Offices and post Roads ; 

To promote the progress of Science and useful Arts, by 
securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the 
exclusive Rightf to their respective Writings and Dis- 
coveries ; 

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court ; 

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed 
on the high Seas, and Offences against the Lawr of Na- 
tions; 

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, 
and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and 
Water ; 

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of 
Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two 
Years ; 

To provide and maintain a Navy ; 

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of 
the land and naval Forces ; 

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the 
Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel In- 
vasions ; 

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the 
Militia, and for governing such part of them as may be 
employed in the Service of the United States, reserving 
to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, 



* The Naturalization laws require a foreigner to be in the coun- 
try five years before he is entitled to citizenship. 

f An Author obtains a copyright by application to the Librarian 
of Congress, and it is secured for twenty-eight years. 

An Inventor secures a patent from the Patent Office, at Wash- 
ington, for a certain number of years, prescribed by the Commis- 
sioner of Patents. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 49 

and the Authority of training the Militia according to the 
Disciphne prescribed by Congress ; 

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatso- 
ever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) 
as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Accept- 
ance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government 
of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over 
all places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of 
the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of 
Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, Dock- Yards, and other need- 
ful Buildings; — And 

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper 
for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all 
other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Govern- 
ment of the United States, or in any Department or 
Officer thereof. 

Sec. 9. The Migration or Importation of such Persons 
as any of the Stales now existing shall think proper to 
admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to 
the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a 
Tax or Duty may be imposed on such Importation, not 
exceeding ten dollars for each Person. 

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not 
be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Inva- 
sion the public Safety may require it. 

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be 
passed. 

No Capitation, or other direct Tax shall be laid, unless 
in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before 
directed to be taken. 

No Tax or Dut> shall be laid on Articles exported 
from any State. 

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of 
Commerce or Revenue to the Pons of one State over 
those of another ; nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, 
one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in an- 
other. 

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in 
Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a 
regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and 



50 HAND BOOK FOR 

Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from 
time to time. 

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United 
States : And no Person holding any Office of Profit or 
Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Con- 
gress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, 
of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign 
State. 

Sec. io. No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, 
or Confederation ; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal ; 
coin Money; emit Bills of Credit ; make any Thing but 
gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts ; pass 
any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impair- 
ing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of No- 
bility. 

No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, 
lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except 
what may be absolutely necessary for executing its in- 
spection Laws : and the net Produce of all Duties and 
Imposts laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be 
for the Use of the Treasury of the United States ; and all 
such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul 
of the Congress. 

No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay 
any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in 
time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with 
another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, 
unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as 
will not admit of Delay. 

Article II. 
[the executive department.] 

Sec. I. The executive Power shall be vested in a 
President of the United States of America. He shall 
hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, 
together with the Vice President, chosen for the same 
Term, be elected, as follows : 

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legis- 
lature thereof may direct, a Numner of Electors, equal to 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 51 

the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to 
which the State may be entitled in the CongreiS : but no 
Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of 
Trust or Profit under the tinned States, shall be appointed 
an Elector. 

* The Electors shall meet in their respective States, 
and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least 
shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with them- 
selves And they shall make a List of all the Persons 
voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each ; which 
List ihey shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the 
Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to 
the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate 
shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall 
then be counted. The Person having the greatest Num- 
ber of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a 
Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed ; and 
if there be more than one who have such Majority and 
have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Rep- 
resentatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them 
for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then 
from the five highest on the List the said House shall in 
like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the 
President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Repre- 
sentation from each State having one Vote : a Quorum for 
this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from 
two-thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States 
shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the 
Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest 
Number of Votes of Jie Electors shall be the Vice Presi- 
dent. But if there should remain two or more who have 
equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot 
the Vice President. 

The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the 
Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their 
Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the 
United States. 



* This clause has been superseded by the 12th Amendment. 



52 HAND BOOK FOR 

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen 
of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this 
Constitution, shall be ehgible to the Office of President; 
neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who 
shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, 
and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United 
States. 

In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, 
or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the 
Powers and Duties of the said office, the same shall 
devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by 
Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resigna- 
tion, or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, 
declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and 
such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be 
removed, or a President shall be elected. 

The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his 
Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased 
nor dimmished during the Period for which he shall have 
been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period 
any other Emolument from the United States, or any of 
them. 

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall 
take the following Oath or Affirmation : 

" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully exe- 
*' cute the Office of President of the United States, and will 
" to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend 
^♦the Constitution of the United States." 

Sec. 2. The President shall be Commander in Chief of 
the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Mili- 
tia of the several States, when called into the actual Service 
of the United States; he may require the opinion, in 
writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive 
Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of 
their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant 
Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United 
States, except in Cases of Impeachment. 

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and 
Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two- 
thirds of the Senators present concur ; and he shall nomi- 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 55 

nate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the 
Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers 
and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other 
Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not 
herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be estab- 
lished by Law ; but the Congress may by Law vest the 
Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think 
proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in 
the Heads of Departments, 

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies 
that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by 
granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of 
their next Session. 

Sec. 3. He shall from time to time give to the Con- 
gress Information of the State of the Union, and recom- 
mend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall 
judge necessary and expedient ; he may, on extraordinary 
Occasion*?, convene both Houses, or either of Ihem, and in 
Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the 
time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time 
as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors 
and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the 
Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the 
officers of the United States. 

Sec. 4. The President. Vice President and all civil 
Officers of the United States, shall be removed from 
Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason^ 
Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. 



Article III. 
[the judicial department.] 

Section i. The Judicial Power of the United States^ 
shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior 
Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and 
establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior 
Courts, shall hold their Offices during good behaviour, and 
shall, at stated times, receive for their Services, a 



54 HAND BOOK FOR 

Compensation which shall not be diminished during their 
continuance in Office. 

Sec, 2. The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in 
Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws 
of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall 
be made, under their Authority; — to all Cases affecting 
Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls ; — to all 
Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction ; — to Contro- 
versies to which the United States shall be a Party ; — to 
Controversies between two or more States ; — between a 
State and Citizens of another State ; — between Citizens of 
different States, — between Citizens of the same State 
claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and 
between a State, or the Citizens thereof and foreign States, 
Citizens or Subjects. 

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Minis- 
ters and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be 
Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. 
In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme 
Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and 
Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations 
as the Congress shall make. 

The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeach- 
ment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in 
the State where the said Crimes shall have been com- 
mitted ; but when not committed within any State, the 
Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may 
by Law have directed. 

Sec. 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist 
only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their 
Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall 
be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two 
Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open 
Court. 

The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punish- 
ment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work 
Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life 
of the Person attainted. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 55 

Article IV. 
[miscellaneous.] 

Section i . Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each 
State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings 
of every other State. And the Congress may by general 
Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records 
and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof. 

Sec. 2. The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to 
all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several 
States. 

A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or 
other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in 
another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority 
of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be 
removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime. 

No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, 
under the Laws thereof, escaping into anothtir, shall, in 
Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be dis- 
charged from such Service or Labour, but shall be deliv- 
ered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or 
Labour may he due. 

Sec. 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress 
into this Union j but no new State shall be formed or 
erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State ; nor 
any State be formed by the Junction of two or more 
States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the 
Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the 
Congress. 

The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make 
all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Terri- 
tory or other Property belonging to the United States ; 
and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as 
to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any 
particular State. 

Sec. 4. The United States shall guarantee to every 
State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, 
aid shall protect each of them against Invasion, and on 
. Ipplication of the Legislature, or of the Executive 



56 HAND BOOK FOR 

(when the Legislature cannot be convened) against do- 
mestic Violence. 

Article V. 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses 
shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to 
this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legisla- 
tures of two-thirds of the several States, shall call a Con- 
vention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case,, 
shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this 
Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three- 
fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three- 
fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratifica- 
tion may be proposed by the Congress ; Provided that no. 
Amendment which may be made prior to the Year one 
thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner 
affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of 
the first Article ; and that no State, without its Consent^ 
shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate. 



Article VL 

All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, 
before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid 
against the United States under this Constitution, as 
under the Confederation. 

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States 
which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all 
treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority 
of the United States shall be the Supreme Law of the 
Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound 
thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any 
State to the Contrary notwithstanding. 

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, 
and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and 
all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United 
Slates, and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath 
or Affirmation, to support this Constitution ; but no reli- 
gious Test shall ever be required as a qualification to any 
Office or public Trust under the United States. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 



57 



Article VII. 

The Ratification of the Conventions of Nine States, 
shall be sufficient for the EstabUshment of this Constitu- 
tion between the States so ratifying the same. 

Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the 
States present the Seventeenth Day of September in 
the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred 
and Eighty-seven and of the Independence of the 
United States of America the Twelfth. In Witness 
whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names, 

G° Washington — 
PresicTt and deputy from Virginia. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
John Langdon 
Nicholas Oilman 

new YORK. 
Alexander Hamilton 

NEW JERSEY. 

Wil Livingston 
Wm Paterson 
David Brearley 
Jona Dayton 

PENNSYLVANIA. 
B Franklin 
Robt Morris 
Tho Fitzsimons 
James Wilson 
Thomas Mifflin 
Geo Clymer 
Jared Ingersoll 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

Nathaniel Gorham 
Rufus King 
Gouv Morris 



DELAWARE. 



Geor Read 
John Dickinson 
Jaco Broom 
Gunning Bedford Jun 
Richard Bassett 

MARYLAND. 
James M' Henry 
Danl Carrol 
Dan of St Thos Jenifer 

VIRGINIA. 
John Blair 

CONNECTICUT. 
Wm Saml Johnson 
Roger Sherman 
James Madison Jr 

NORTH CAROLINA. 
Wm Blount 
Hu Wilhamson 
Richard Dobbs Spaight 



58 HAND BOOK FOR 

SOUTH CAROLINA. GEORGIA. 

cfarSfnckney ^™^"^ ^^"^ 

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney 
Pierce Butler 

Attest: William Jackson, Secretary, 



ARTICLES 

IN ADDITION TO, AND AMENDMENT OF, 

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 
OF AMERICA. 

Proposed by Congress^ and ratified by the Legislatures 

of the Several States, pursuant to the fifth article 

of the original Constitution, 

Article I. 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establish- 
ment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; 
or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ; or 
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to 
petition the Government for a redress of grievances. 

Article II. 

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the secur- 
ity of a free State, the right of the people to keep and 
bear Arms, shall not be infringed. 

Article III. 

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any 
house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of 
war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 59 

Article IV. 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, 
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches 
and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall 
issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or 
affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be 
searched, and the person or things to be seized. 

Article V. 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or 
otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or 
indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arismg in the 
land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual 
service in time of War or public danger ; nor shall any 
person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in 
jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any 
Criminal Case to be a witness against himself, nor be 
deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process 
of law ; nor shall private property be taken for public 
use, without just compensation. 

Article VI. 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy 
the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial 
jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall 
have been committed, which district shall have been 
previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the 
nature and cause of the accusation ; to be confronted with 
the witnesses against him ; to have Compulsory process 
for obtaining "Witnesses in his favor, and to have the 
Assistance of Counsel for his defence. 

Article VII. 

In Suits at common law, where the value in contro- 
versy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by 
jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shaU 
be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the Uniica 
States, than according to the rules of the common law. 



6o HAND BOOK FOR 

Article VIII. 
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive 
fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments in- 
flicted. 

Article IX. 
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights, 
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained 
by the people. 

Article X * 
The powers not delegated to the United States by the 
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are 
reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. 

Article XI.| 
The Judicial power of the United States shall not be 
construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, com- 
menced or prosecuted against one of the United States by 
Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of 
any Foreign State. 

Article XII.J 
The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and 
vote by ballot for President and Vice President, one of 
whom at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same 
state with themselves ; they shall name in their ballots the 
person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the 
person voted for as Vice President, and they shall make 
distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of 
all persons voted for as Vice President, and of the num- 
ber of votes for each, which hsts they shall sign and 
certify, and transfer sealed to the seat of the government 
of the United States directed to the President of the 



* The first ten amendments were proposed at the first session of 
the first Congress (17S9), and declared adopted in 1791. 

f The eleventh amendment was proposed at the first session of 
the third Congress (1794), and declared adopted in 1798. 

I This article is substituted for Clause 3, Sec, I., Art. II., page 
317, and annuls it. It was declared adopted iu 1804. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 6l 

Senate; — The President of the Senate shall, in presence 
of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the 
certificates and the votes shall then be counted; — The 
person having the greatest number of votes for President, 
shall be the President, if such number be a majority of 
the whole number of Electors appointed ; and if no per- 
son have such majority, then from the persons having the 
highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those 
voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall 
choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in 
choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by 
states, the representation from each state having one 
vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member 
or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority 
of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if 
the House of Representatives shall not choose a President 
whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, 
before the fourth day of March next following, then the 
Vice President shall act as President, as in the case of 
the death or other constitutional disability of the Presi- 
dent The person having the greatest number of votes 
as Vice President, shall be the Vice President, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of Electors 
appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from 
the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall 
choose the Vice President; a quorum for the purpose 
shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Sena- 
tors, and a majority of the whole number shall be neces- 
sary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible 
to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice 
President of the United States. 

Article XIII.* 
Section i. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, 
except as punishment for crime, whereof the party shall 
have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United 
States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 



* The thirteenth amendment was proposed at the second session 
of the thirty-eighth Congress (1865), and declared adopted in 1865. 



62 HAND BOOK FOR 

Sec. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this 
article by appropriate legislation. 

Article XIV.* 

Section I. All persons born or naturalized in the 
United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are 
citizens of the United States and of the state wherein 
they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law 
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citi- 
zens of the United States ; nor shall any state deprive any 
person of life, liberty, or property, without due process 
of law, nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the 
equal protection of the laws. 

Sec. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among 
the several states according to their respective numbers, 
counting the whole number of persons in each state, ex- 
cluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at 
any election for the choice of Electors for President and 
Vice President of the United States, representatives in 
Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or 
the members of ihe Legislature thereof, is denied to any 
of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty- one 
years of age, and citizens of the United Slates, or in any 
way abridged, except for participation in rebellion or 
other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be 
reduced in the proportion which the number of such 
male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citi- 
zens twenty-one years of age in such state. 

Sec. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Repre- 
sentative in Congress, or Elector of President and Vice 
President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the 
United States, or under any state, who, having previously 
taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer 
of the United States, or as a member of any slate Legis- 
lature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, 
to support the Constitution of the United States, shall 



* The fourteenth amendment was first proposed at the first 
session of the thirty-ninth Congress, 1866, and declared adopted in 
x868. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 63 

have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same 
or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But 
Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each house, 
remove such disability. 

Sec. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United 
States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for 
payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppress- 
ing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. 
But neither the United States nor any state shall assume 
or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrec- 
tioQ or rebellion against the United States, or any claim 
for the loss or emancipation of any slave ; but all such 
debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and 
void. 

Sec. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, 
by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. 

Article XV.* 

Section i. The right of citizens of the United States 
to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United 
States, or by any state, on account of race, color, or 
previous condition of servitude. 

Sec. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce 
this article by appropriate legislation. 



Washington's Farkweh, Address. 

Washington vv^as elected the First President, and 
inaugurated, April 30, 1789, at New York city, 
which was then the seat of the Federal govern- 
ment. After two terms as Chief Magistrate, during 
which he succeeded in making the authority of the 
United States obeyed and respected everywhere 
throughout the Union, while he also rebuked the 



* The fifteenth amendment was proposed at the second session 
of the fortieth Congress, in 1869, and declared adopted in 1870. 



64 HAND BOOK FOR 

attempts of France to encroach on the rights of the 
American people, President Washington retired to 
private Hfe. His Farewell Address will ever hold 
a place in American memories, as the final and in- 
valuable public utterance of him who was indeed 
the Father of Our Country. 

Friends and Fellow- Citizens : 

The period for a new election of a citizen to administer 
the Executive Government of the United States being not 
far distant, and the time actually arrived when your 
thoughts must be employed in designating the person who 
is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me 
proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct 
expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise 
you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being con- 
sidered among the number of those out of whom a choice 
is to be made. 

I beg you, at the same time, to do me the justice to be 
assured that this resolution has not been taken without a 
strict regard to all the considerations appertaining to the 
relation which binds a dutiful citizen to his country; and 
that, in withdrawing the tender of service, which silence, 
in my situation might imply, I am influenced by no di- 
minution of zeal for your future interest ; no deficiency 
of grateful respect for your past kindness, but am sup- 
ported by a full conviction that the step is compatible 
with both. 

The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in, the 
office to which your suffrages have twice called me, have 
been a uniform sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of 
duty, and to a deference for what appeared to be your 
desire. I constantly hoped that it would have been much 
earlier in my power, consistently with motives which I 
was not at liberty to disregard, to return to that retire- 
ment from which I had been reluctantly drawn. The 
strength of my inclination to do this, previous to the last 
election, had even led to the preparation of an address 
to declare it to you ; but mature reflection on the then 
perplexed and critical posture of our aff^airs with foreign 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 65 

nations, and the unanimous advice of persons entitled to 
my confidence, impelled me to abandon the idea. 

I rejoice that the state of your concerns, external as 
well as interna!, no longer renders the pursuit of inclina- 
tion incompatible with the sentiment of duty or propriety ; 
and am persuaded, whatever partiality may be retamed 
for my services, tliat, in the present circumstances of our 
country, you will not disapprove my determination to 
retire. 

The impressions with which I first undertook the ardu- 
ous trust were explained on the proper occasion. In the 
discharge of this trust, I will only say, that I have with 
good intentions contributed towards the organization and 
administration of the Government the best exertions of 
which a very fallible judgment was capable. Not un- 
conscious in the outset of the inferiority of my qualifica- 
tions, experience, in my own eyes — perhaps still more in 
the eyes of others — has strengthened the motives to diffi- 
dence of myself; and every day the increasing weight of 
years admonishes me, more and more, that the shade of 
retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome. 
Satisfied that if any circumstances have given peculiar 
value to my services, they were temporary, I have the 
consolation to believe that, while choice and prudence 
invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not 
forbid it. 

In looking forward to the moment which is intended 
to terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do 
not permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of 
that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country 
for the many honors it has conferred upon me ; still more 
for the steadfast confidence with which it has supported 
me ; and for the opportunities I have thence enjoyed of 
manifesting my inviolable attachment, by services faithful 
and persevering, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal. 
If benefits have resulted to our country from these ser- 
vices, let it always be remembered to your praise, and as 
an instructive example in our annals that, under circum- 
stances in which the passions, agitated in every direction, 
were liable to mislead; amidst appearances sometimes 



66 HAND BOOK FOR 

dubious, vicissitudes of fortune often discouraging; in 
situations in which, not unfrequently, want of success 
has countenanced the spirit of criticism — the constancy 
of your support was the essential prop of the efiforts, and 
a guarantee of the plans, by which they were effected. 
Profoundly penetrated with this idea, I shall carry it with 
me to my grave, as a strong incitement to unceasing vows, 
that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of 
its beneficence ; that your union and brotherly affection 
may be perpetual ; that the free Constitution, which is the 
work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained ; that 
its administration, in every department, may be stamped 
with wisdom and virtue; that, in fine, the happiness of 
the people of these states, under the auspices of liberty, 
may be made complete, by so careful a preservation and 
so prudent a use of this blessing as will acquire to them 
the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affec- 
tion, and the adoption of every nation which is yet a 
stranger to it. 

Here, perhaps, I ought to stop ; but a solicitude for 
your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and 
the apprehension of danger natural to that solicitude, 
urge me, on an occasion like the present, to offer to your 
solemn contemplation, and to recommend to your fre- 
quent review, some sentiments which are the result of 
much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and 
which appear to me all-important to the permanency of 
your felicity as a people. These will be afforded to you 
with the more freedom, as you can only see in them the 
disinterested warnings of a parting friend, who can pos- 
sibly have no personal motive to bias his counst-l ; nor 
can I forget, as an encouragement to it, your indulgent 
reception of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar 
occasion. 

Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament 
of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary 
to fortify or confirm the attachment. 

The unity of government, which constitutes you one 
people, is also now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is 
a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence — 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 67 

the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace 
abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of that very 
liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to 
foresee that, from different causes and from different 
quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices em- 
ployed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this 
truth ; as this is the point in your political fortress against 
which the batteries ot internal and external enemies will 
be most constantly and actively (though often covertly 
and insidiously) directed — it is of infinite moment that 
you should properly esumate the immense value of your 
National Union to your collective and individual happi- 
ness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and 
immovable attachment to it ; accustoming yourselves to 
think and speak of it as of the palladium of your political 
safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with 
jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest 
even a suspicion that it can, in any event, be abandoned; 
and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every 
attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the 
rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link to- 
gether the various parts. 

P^or this you have every inducement of sympathy and 
interest. Citizens by birth or choice, of a common coun- 
try, that country has a right to concentrate your affec- 
tions. The name of American, which belongs to you in 
your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride 
of patriotism, more than any appellation derived 
from local discriminations. With slight shades of differ- 
ence, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and 
political principles. You have, in a common cause, fought 
and triumphed together; the independence and liberty 
you possess are the work of joint counsels and joint efforts 
•^of common dangers, sufferings, and successes. 

But these considerations, however powerfully they 
address themselves to your sensibility, are greatly out- 
weighed by those which apply more immediately to your 
interest : here every portion of our country finds the 
most commanding motives for carefully guarding and 
preserving the union of the whole. 



68 HAND BOOK FOR 

The North, in an unrestrained intercourse with tlie 
South, protected by the equal laws of a common govern- 
ment, finds, in the productions of the latter, great addi- 
tional resources of maritime and commercial enterprise, 
and precious materials of manufacturing industry. The 
South in the same intercourse, benefiting by the agency 
of the North, sees its agriculture grow, and its commerce 
expand. Turning partly into its own channels the sea- 
men of the North, it finds its particular navigation invig- 
orated; and while it contributes, in different ways, to 
nourish and increase the general mass of the national 
navigation, it looks forward to the protection of a mari- 
time strength to which itself is unequally adapted. The 
East, in like intercourse with the West, already finds, 
and in the progressive improvement of interior communi- 
cation, by land and water, will more and more find a 
valuable vent for the commodities which it brings from 
abroad, or manufactures at home. The West derives 
from the East supplies requisite to its growth and com- 
fort; and what is perhaps of still greater consequence, it 
must, of necessity, owe the secure enjoyment of indispen- 
sable outlets for its own productions, to the weight, in- 
fluence, and the future maritime strength of the Atlantic 
side of the Union, directed by an indissoluble community 
of interest as one nation. Any other tenure by which the 
West can hold this essential advantage, whether deriyed 
from its own separate strength, or from an apostate and 
unnatural connection with any foreign power, must be 
intrinsically precarious. 

While, then, every part of our country thus feels an 
immediate and particular interest in UNION, all the parts 
combined cannot fail to find, in the united mass of means 
and efforts, greater strength, greater resource, proportion- 
ably greater security from external danger, a less frequent 
interruption of their peace by foreign nations ; and what 
is of inestimable value, they must derive from union an 
exemption from those broils and wars between them- 
selves, which so frequently afflict neighboring countries, 
not tied together by the same government ; which their 
own nvalships alone would be sufficient to produce, but 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 69 

which opposite foreign alliances, attachments, and in- 
trigues, would stimulate and embitter. Hence, likewise^ 
they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown mili- 
tary establishments, which, under any form of govern- 
ment, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be 
regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty ; in 
this sense it is that your union ought to be considered as 
a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the one 
ought to endear to you the preservation of the other. 

These considerations speak a persuasive language to 
every reflecting and virtuous mind, and exhibit the con- 
tinuance of the Union as a primary object of patriotic 
desire. Is there a doubt, whether a common government 
can embrace so large a sphere ? Let experience solve it. 
To listen to mere speculation, in such a case, were crim- 
inal. We are authorized to hope, that a proper organiza- 
tion of the whole, with the auxiliaiy agency of govern- 
ments for the respective subdivisions, will afford a happy 
issue to the experiment. It is well worth a fair and full 
experiment. With such powerful and obvious motives to 
Union, affecting all parts of our country, while experience 
shall not have demonstrated its impracticability, there will 
always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those who, 
in any quarter, may endeavor to weaken its bands. 

In contemplating the causes which may disturb our 
Union, it occurs as a matter of serious concern, that any 
ground should have been furnished for characterizing 
parties by geographical discriminations — Northern and 
Southern — Atlantic and Western: whence designing men 
may endeavor to excite a belief that there is a real differ- 
ence of local interests and views. One of the expedients 
of party to acquire influence within particular districts, is 
to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. 
You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jeal- 
ousies and heart-burnings which spring from these mis- 
representations ; they tend to render alien to each other 
those who ought to be bound together by fraternal 
affection. The inhabitants of our western country have 
lately had a useful lesson on this head ; they have seen 
in the negotiation by the Executive, and in the unani« 



70 HAND BOOK FOR 

mous ratification by the Senate, of the treaty with Spain, 
and in the universal satisfaction at that event throughout 
the United States, a decisive proof how unfounded were 
the suspicions propagated among them of a policy in the 
general Government, and in the Atlantic States, un- 
friendly to their interests in regard to the Mississippi, 
they have been witnesses to the formation of two treaties 
— that with Great Britain, and that with Spain— which 
secure to them everything they could desire in respect to 
our foreign relations, toward confirming their prosperity. 
Will it not be their wisdom to rely for the preservation 
of these advantages on the Union by which they were 
procured ? Will they not henceforth be deaf to those 
advisers, if such there are, who would sever them from 
their brethren, and connect them with aliens ? 

To the efficacy and permanency of your Union, a Gov- 
ernment for the whole is indispensable. No alliance, 
however strict between the parts, can be an adequate sub- 
stitute ; they must inevitably experience the infractions 
and interruptions which all alliances, in all time, have 
experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, you 
have improved upon your first essay, by the adoption of 
a Constitution of Government better calculated than your 
former for an intimate Union, and for the efficacious man- 
agement of your common concerns. This Government, 
the offspring of our own choice, uninfluenced and un- 
awed, adopted upon full investigation and mature delib- 
eration, completely free in its principles, in the distribu- 
tion of its powers, uniting security with energy, and 
containing within itself a provision for its own amend- 
ment, has a just claim to your confidence and your support. 
Respect for its authority, compliance witli its laws, 
acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the 
fundamental maxims of true liberty. The basis of our 
political systems, is the right of the people to make and 
to alter their constitution of Government; but the Con- 
stitution which at any time exists, till changed by an 
explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly 
obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and 
the right of the people to establish Government, pre- 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 71 

supposes the duty of every individual to obey the estab- 
lished Government. 

All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all com- 
binations and associations, under whatever plausible 
character, with the real design to direct, control, counter- 
act or awe the regular deliberation and action of the con- 
stituted authorities, are destructive to this fundamental 
principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize 
faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force, to 
put in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the 
will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising 
minority of the community; and, according to the alter- 
nate triumphs of different parties, to make the public 
administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incon- 
gruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of con- 
sistent and wholesome plans, digested by common 
counsels, and modified by mutual interests. 

However combinations or associations of the above 
description may now and then answer popular ends, they 
are likely, in the course of time and things, to become 
potent engine?, by which cunning, ambitious and unprin- 
cipled men, will be enabled to subvert the power of the 
people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of govern- 
ment, destroying, afterward, the very engines which had 
lifted them to unjust dominion. 

Toward the preservation of your Government, and the 
permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite, not 
only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppositions 
to its acknowledged authority but also that you resist with 
care the spirit of innovation upon its principles, however 
specious the pretexts. Oue method of assault may be to 
effect, in the forms of the Constitution, alterations which 
will impair the energy of the system, and thus to under- 
mine what cannot be directly overthrown. In all the 
changes to which you may be invited, remember that time 
and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character 
of Governments as of other human institutions ; that ex- 
perience is the surest standard by which to test the real 
tendency of the existing constitution of a country; that 
facility in changes, upon the credit of mere hypothesis and 



72 HAND BOOK FOR 

opinion, exposes to perpetual change, from the endless 
variety of hypothesis and opinion ; and remember, 
especially, that for the efficient management of your 
common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a 
Government of as much vigor as is consistent wiih the 
perfect security of liberty, is indispensable. Liberty itself 
will find in such a Government, with powers properly 
distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is indeed 
little else than a name, where the Government is too 
feeble to withstand the enterprises of faction, to confine 
each member of the society within the limits prescribed 
by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil 
enjoyment of the rights of person and property. 

I have already intimated to you the danger of parties 
in the state, with particular reference to the founding of 
them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take 
a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most 
solemn manner, against the baneful effects of the spirit of 
party generally. 

This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our 
nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the 
human mind. It exists under different shapes, in all 
Governments, more or less stifled, controlled or repressed; 
but in those of the popular form it is seen in its greatest 
rankness, and is truly their worst enemy. 

The alternate domination of one faction over another, 
sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dis- 
sension, which in different ages and countries has per- 
petrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful 
despotism. But this leads, at length, to a more formal 
and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries 
which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek 
security and repose in the absolute power of an individual, 
and, sooner or later, the chief of some prevailing faction, 
more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns 
this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on 
the ruins of public liberty. 

Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind 
(which, nevertheless, ought not to be entirely out of sight), 
tfae oommon and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 73 

are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise 
people to discourage and restrain it. 

It serves always to distract the pubhc councils, and 
enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the com- 
munity with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; 
kindles the animosities of one part against another; 
foments, occasionally, riot and insurrection. It opens the 
door to foreign influence and corruption, which find a 
facilitated access to the Government itself, through the 
channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the 
will of one country are subjected to the policy and will 
of another. 

. There is an opinion that parties, in free countries, are 
useful checks upon the administration of the Government, 
and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. Tnis, withm 
certain limits, is probably true; and in governments of a 
monarchical cast, patriotism may look with indulgence, 
if not with favor, upon the spirit of party. But in thos^ 
of the popular character, in governments purely elective, 
it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural 
tendency, it is certain there will always be enough of that 
spirit for every salutary purpose. And there being con- 
stant danger of excess, the effort ought to be, by force of 
public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to 
be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent 
its burstmg into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should 
consume. 

It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking, in 
a free country, should inspire caution in those intru-ted 
with its administration to confine themselves within thei'^ 
respective constitutional spheres, avoiding, in the exercise 
of the powers of one denartment, to encroach upon 
another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consoli- 
date the powers of all the departments in one, and thus 
to create, whatever the form of Government, a real des- 
potism, A just estimate of that love of^ power, and 
proneness to abuse it which predominates in the human 
heart, is sufiicient to satisfy us of the truth of this posi- 
tion. The necessiiy of reciprocal checks in the exercise 
of political power, by dividing and distributing it into 



74 HAND BOOK FOR 

different depositories, and constituting each the guardian 
of the public weal, agamst invasions by the others, has 
been evinced by experiments, ancient and modern; some 
of them in our own country, and under our own eyes. 
To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute 
them. If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution 
or modification of the constitutional powers be, in any 
particular, wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in 
the way which the Constitution designates. But let there 
be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one 
instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the cus 
tomary weapon by which free Governments are destroyer"*. 
The precedent must always greatly overbalance, in per 
manent evil, any partial or transient benefit which the us. 
can, at any time, yield. 

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political 
prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable sup- 
ports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of 
patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars 
of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of 
men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the 
pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A 
-volume could not trace all their connections with private 
and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, where is the 
security for property, for reputation,' for life, if the sense 
of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the 
instruments of investigation in the courts of justice ? And 
let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality 
can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be 
conceded to the influence of refined education on minds 
of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid 
us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion 
of religious principles. 

It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a 
necessary spring of popular Government. The rule, 
indeed, extends with more or less force to every species 
of free Government. Who, that is a sincere friend to ii, 
can look with indifference upon attempts to shake rlie 
foundation of the fabric ? 

Promote, then, as an object of primary importaDce, 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 75 

institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge In 
proportion as the stmcture of a government gives force 
to pubhc opinion, it is essential that public opinion should 
be enlightened. 

As a very important source of strength and security, 
cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is to 
use it as sparingly as possible; avoiding occasions of ex- 
pense by cultivating peace, but remembering also that 
timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently 
prevent much greater disbursements to repel it ; avoiding, 
likewise, the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning 
occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time 
of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars 
may have occasioned ; not ungenerously throwing upon 
posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear. 
The execution of these maxims belongs to your rep- 
resentatives, but it is necessary that pubhc opinion should 
co-operate. To facilitate to them the performance of 
their duty, it is essential that you should practically bear 
in mind, that toward the payment of debts there must be 
revenue ; that to have revenue there must be taxes ; that 
no taxes can be devised, which are not more or less in- 
convenient and unpleasant ; that the intrinsic embarrass- 
ment inseparable from the selection of the proper objects 
(which is always a choice of difficulties,) ought to be 
a decisive motive for a candid construction of the conduct 
of the Government in making it, and for a spirit of 
acquiescence in the measures for obtaining revenue, which 
the public exigencies may at any time dictate. 

Observe good fai:h and justice toward all nations; 
cultivate peace and harmony with all; religion and 
morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be that good 
policy does not equally enjoin it ? It will be worthy of 
a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great 
nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too 
novel example of a people always guided by an exalted 
justice and benevolence. Who can doubt that, in the 
course of time and things, the fruits of such a plan would 
richly repay any temporary advantages which might be 
lost by a steady adherence to it ? Can it be that Provi- 



76 HAND BOOK TOP 

dence has not connected the permanent fehcity of a nation 
with its virtue ? The experiment, at least, is recommended 
by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas ! 
is it rendered impossible by its vices? 

In the execution of such a plan, nothing is more 
essential than that permanent inveterate antipathies 
against particular nations, and passionate attachments for 
others, should be excluded; and that, in place, of them, 
just and amicable feelings tov^'ard all should be culli- 
vated. The nation which indulges toward another an 
habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is, in some 
degree, a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its 
affection ; either of which is sufficient to lead it astray 
from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in one nation 
against another, disposes each more readily to ofier 
insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes of umbrage, 
and to be haughty and intractable, when accidental or 
trifling occasions of dispute occur. Hence frequent col- 
lisions, obstinate, envenomed, and bloody contests. The 
nation prompted by ill-will and resentment, sometimes 
impels to war the Government, contrary to the best 
calculations of policy. The Government sometimes par- 
ticipates in the national propensity, and adopts, through 
passion, what reason would reject; at other times it makes 
the animosity of the nation subservient to projects of 
hostility, instigated by pride, ambition, and other sinister 
and pernicious motives. The peace often, sometimes 
perhaps the liberty, of nations has been the victim. 

So, likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation to 
another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the 
favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary 
common interest, in cases where no real common interest 
exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, 
betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and 
wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or justi- 
fication. It leads also to concessions to the favorite 
nation of privileges denied to others, which is apt doubly 
to injure the nation making the concessions ; by unne- 
cessarily parting with what ought to have been retained, 
and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 77 

retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are 
withheld; and it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded 
citizens (who devote themselves to the favorite nation), 
facihty to betray, or sacrifice the interest of their own 
country, without odium; sometimes even with popularity; 
gilding with the appearance of a virtuous sense of obliga- 
tion, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a 
laudable zeal for public good the base or foolish compli- 
ances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation. 

As avenues to foreign influence in innumerable ways, 
such attachments are particularly alarming to the truly 
enlightened and independent patriot. How many oppor- 
tunities do they afford to tamper with domestic factions, 
to practice the art of seduction, to mislead public opinion, 
to influence or awe the public councils ! Such an attach- 
ment of a small or weak, toward a great and powerful 
nation, dooms the former to be the satellite of the latter. 

Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I 
conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens,) the jealousy 
of a free people ought to be constantly awake; since 
history and experience prove that foreign influence is one 
of the most baneful foes of republican government. But 
that jealousy, to be useful, must be impartial; else it 
becomes the instrument of the very influence to be 
avoided, instead of a defence against it. Excessive par- 
tiality for one foreign nation, and excessive dislike for 
another, cause those whom they actuate to see danger 
only on one side, and serve to veil, and even second, the 
arts of influence on the other. Real patriots, who may 
resist the intrigues of the favorite, are liable to become 
suspected and odious; while its tools and dupes usurp 
the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender 
their interests. 

The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign 
nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have 
with them as little political connection as possible. So 
far as we have already formed engagements, Jet them be 
fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop. 

Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have 
none, or a very remote relation. Hence she must be 



78 HAND BOOK FOR 

engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which 
are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, 
it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves, by ariificial 
ties, in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the 
ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or 
enmities. 

Our detached and distant situation invites and enables 
us to pursue a different course. If we remain one people, 
under an efficient government, the period is not far off 
when we may defy material injury from external annoy- 
ance ; when we may take such an attitude as will cause 
the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon, to be 
scrupulously respected ; when belligerent nations, under 
the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not 
lightly hazard the giving us provocation; when we may 
choose peace or war, as our interest, guided by justice, 
shall counsel. 

"Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation ? 
"Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground ? Why, 
by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of 
Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of 
European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor or caprice ? 
It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances 
•with any portion of the foreign world ; so far, I mean, as 
we are now at hberty to do it ; for let me not be under- 
stood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing 
engagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to 
public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the 
best policy. I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements 
be observed in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, 
it is unnecessary, and would be unwise to extend thtm. 
Taking care always to keep ourselves, by suitable es- 
tablishments, on a respectable defensive posture, we may 
safely trust to temporary aUiances for extraordinary 
emergencies. 

Harmony, and a liberal intercourse with all nations, are 
recommended by policy, humanity and interest. But even 
our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial 
hand; neither seeking nor granting exclusive favors or 
preferences; consulting the natural course of things; 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 79 

diffusing and diversifying, by gentle means, the streams of 
commerce, but forcing notliing ; establishing, with powers 
so disposed, in order to give trade a stable course, to de- 
fine the rights of our merchants, and to enable the Gov- 
ernment to support them, conveniional rules of inter- 
course, the best that present circumstances and mutual 
opinions will permit, but temporary, and liable to be, from 
time to time, abandoned or varied, as experience and cir- 
cumstances shall dictate; constantly keeping in view, 
that it is folly in one nation to look for disinterested 
favors from another ; that it must pay, with a portion of 
its independence, for whatever it may accept under that 
character; that by such acceptance it may place itself in 
the condition of having given equivalents for nominal 
favors, and yet of being reproached with ingratitude for 
not giving more. There can be no greater error than to 
expect, or calculate upon, real favors from nation to na- 
tion. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which 
a just pride ought to discard. 

In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an 
old and affectionate friend, 1 dare not hope they will 
make the strong and lasting impression I could wish ; that 
they will control the usual current of the passions, or 
prevent our nation from running the course which has 
hitherto marked the destiny of nations ; but if I may even 
flatter myself that they may be productive of some partial 
benefit, some occasional good ; that they may now and 
then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to wai-n 
against the mischiefs of foreign intrigues, to guard against 
the impostures of pretendedpatriotism ; this hope will be 
a full recompense fo'- the solicitude for your welfare by 
which they have been dictated. 

How far, in the discharge of my official duties, I have 
been guided by the principles which have been delineated, 
the public records and other evidences of my conduct 
must witness to you and the world. To myself, the as- 
surance of my own conscience is that I have at least be- 
lieved myself to be guided by them. 

In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my 
proclamation of the 22d of April, 1793, is the index to 



8o HAND BOOK FOR 

my plan. Sanctioned by your approvini^^ voice, and by 
that of your Representatives in both Houses of Congress, 
the spirit of that measure has continually governed me, 
uninfluenced by any attempts to deler or divert me 
from it. 

After deliberate examination, with the aid of the best 
lights I could obtain, I was well satisfied that our country, 
under all the circumstances of the case, had a rit^ht to 
take, and was bound in duty and interest to take, a neutral 
position. Having taken it, I determined, as far as sliould 
depend upon me, to maintain it with moderation, perse- 
verance and firmness. 

The considerations which respect the right to hold this 
conduct, it is not necessary on this occasion to detail, I 
will only observe that, according to my understandmg of 
the matter, that right, so far from being denied by any of 
the belligerent powers, has been virtually admitted by 
all. 

The duty of holding a neutral conduct may be inferred, 
without anything more, from the obligation which justice 
and humanity impose on every nation, in cases in which 
it is free to act, to maintain inviolate the relations of peace 
and amity toward other nations. 

The inducements of interest, for observing that con- 
duct, will best be referred to your own reflections and ex- 
perience. With me, a predominant motive has been to 
endeavor to gain time to our country to settle and 
mature in its yet recent institutions, and to progress, 
without interruption, to that degree of strength and con- 
sistency which is necessary to give it, humanly speaking, 
the command of its own fortunes. 

Though in reviewing the incidents of my administra- 
tion, I am unconscious of intentional error, I am, never- 
theless, too sensible of my defects not to think itj^robable 
that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they 
may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or 
mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also 
carry with me the hope that my country will never cease 
to view them with indulgence; and that, after forty-five 
years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 81 

zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned 
to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of 
rest. 

Relying on its kindness in this, as in o*her things, and 
actuated by that fervent love towards it which is so natural 
to a man who views in it the native soil of himself and 
his progenitors lor several generations, I anticipate, with 
pleasing expectation, that retreat in which I promise my- 
self to realize, without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of par- 
taking, in the midst of my fellow-citizens, the benign 
influence of good laws under a free government — the 
ever favorite object of my heart — and the happy reward, 
as I trust, of our mutual cares, labors and dangers, 

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

United States, lyth September, lygd. 



82 HAND BOOK FOR 

Part II. 
THE MONROE DOCTRINE. 

Not a Part of Nationai, Law. 

The Monroe Doctrine, so-called, is not a part of 
the national law. The people and government of 
the United States are in no sense committed to its 
enforcement ; yet it undoubtedly has a strong hold 
upon American, sentiment, and the American peo- 
ple would regard with disfavor any failure to main- 
tain the principle therein embodied. James Mon- 
roe, the fifth President of the United States, was 
a cautious and prudent statesman as well as a 
courageous soldier. Throughout the war between 
Spain and her revolted colonies in South America, 
he maintained a strict neutrality. In his message 
to Congress in December, 1819, President Monroe 
said that "the greatest care has been taken to 
enforce the laws intended to preserve an impartial 
neutrality; our ports have been equally open to 
both parties, and our citizens have been equally 
restrained, from interfering with either to the preju- 
dice of the other." On \he 8th of March, 1822. 
President Monroe communicated to Congress a 
message in which, after noticing the progress of 
the war in South America, he stated that "when we 
regard the great length of time this war has been 
prosecuted, the complete success which has 
attended it in favor of the provinces, the present 
condition of the parties, and the utter inability of 
Spain to produce any change in it, we are com- 
pelled to conclude that its fate is settled, and that 
the provinces which have declared their independ- 
ence are in the enjoyment of it and ought to be 
recognized. ' ' This message and the accompanying 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 83 

documents were referred to a committee, which 
made a long report, recommending the recognition 
of the independence of the Mexican and South 
American Republics. Congress adopted the report, 
and not long afterward ministers were appointed 
to Colombia, Mexico and Buenos Ayres. This in- 
troductory statement is necessary, as it is soiiie- 
times sought to convey the impression that the 
Monroe Doctrine was a fulmiuation against foreign 
rule in America, and was influential in securing 
South American independence. As a matter of 
fact the South Americans had gained their inde- 
pendence before President Monroe gave utterance 
to his famous ^'doctrine," in a subsequent message 
of December 2, '823. 

The words of the memorable declaration consti- 
tute two paragraphs of the message. In the first 
of these paragraphs President Monroe declares that 
the governments of Russia and Great Britain have 
been informed that the American continents hence- 
forth are not to be considered subjects for future 
colonization bv any European powers. In the 
second paragraph he says that the United States 
would consider any attempt on the part of tne 
European powers to extend their system to any 
portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our 
peace and safety. He goes further and says that if 
two governments estabhshed in North or South 
America who have declared their independence of 
European control should be interfered with by any 
European power, +his interference would be re- 
garded as the manifestation of unfriendly disposi- 
tion to the United States. These utterances were 
addressed especially to Spain and Portugal. The 
two passages of the message are as follows : 

Text of the Monroe Doctrine. 
" At the proposal of the Russian imperial government, 
made through the minister of the emperor residing here, 
full power and instructions have been tiansmitted to the 



84 HAND BOOK FOR 

minister of the United States at St. Petersburg to arrange, 
by amicable negotiation, the respective rights and interests 
of the two nations on tlie northwest coat>t of this conti- 
nent. A similar proposal has been made by his imperial 
majesty to the Government of Great Britain, which has 
likewise been acceded to. Tlie Government of the 
United Stales has been desirous, by this friendly proceed- 
ing, of manifesting the great value which they have invaria- 
bly attached to the friendship of the emperor, and their 
solicitude to cultivate the best understanding with his 
government. In the discussions to which this interest has 
given rise, and in the arrangements by which they may 
terminate, the occasion has been judged proper for 
asserting as a principle in which the rights and interests 
of the United States are involved, that the American con- 
tinents, by the free and independent condition which 
they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to 
be considered as subjects for colonization by any European 

power We owe it, therefore, to candor, and 

to the amicable relations existing between the United 
States and those powers, to declare that we should con- 
sider any attempt on their part to extend their system to 
any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace 
nnd safety. With the existing colonies or dependencies 
of any European power we have not interfered, and shall 
not interfere. But with the governments who. have de- 
clared their independence and maintained it, and whose 
independence we have, on great consideration and on 
just principles, acknowledged, we could not view any 
interpObiiion for the purpose of oppressing them, or con- 
trolhngin any other manner their destiny, by any Euro- 
pean power, in any other light than as the manifestation 
of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States." 



Minister Anderson at Bogota. 

On the 9th of December, 1823, the seventh day- 
after the Monroe Doctrine was enunciated at Wash- 
ington, Mr. Anderson, minister of the United 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 85 

States to Colombia, delivered his credentials to the 
government at Bogota, being the first minister 
received from any foreign power outside of Spanish 
America. Mr. Anderson's address on that occasion 
may no doubt be regarded as reflecting the views 
of, if not directly dictated by President Monroe, 
and is of interest in connection with the President's 
celebrated message. He said : 

" Mr. President : The President of the United States, 
animated by an ardent wish to continue the relations of 
perfect harmony and generous friendship between our 
respective countries, has commanded me to give the mobt 
satisfactory expression to the liberal feelings which he, as 
well as the people of the United States, must ever enter- 
tain toward the institutions of freedom in every country. 
I tender to you his anxious wishes for the restoration of 
peace to this republic, and prosperity to its citizens. My 
own admiration of the liberal institutions of Colombia, 
and of the glorious manner in which they have been 
created and sustained, affords the surest pledge of the 
sincerity of my sentiments. If this mission shall have the 
happy effect of giving solidity and duration to the harmo- 
nious feelings of our countrymen, it will be a source of 
unaffected joy to every friend of free government. 

'* It is en this contment, and in this age, Mr. President, 
that m?n has been awakened to the long lost truth, that, 
under Heaven, he is capable of goverumg himself; that 
God has not given to him in vain the part and intellect of 
a human being. Every motive that can operate on a good 
man, urges him to cherish the institutions founded on the 
development of these truths, and to nourish the principles 
v»'hich can alone sustain them. The sublimest .spectacle 
that we can enjoy, is to contemplate our fellow man ex- 
plaining and teaching, by reason and argument, the truth, 
that * voluntary agi'eetnent is the only legitimate source of 
political power.'' When a nation is penetrated with this 
truth, its liberty is placed beyond the reach of force or 
fraud. 

** Under such governments, we may fondly hope to see 



86 HAND BOOK FOR 

the people of this continent devoted only to those acts 
which give comfort and enjoyment to domestic life, and 
the highest polish to intellectual improvement. It has 
long, indeed, been the doctrine of despots, that the arts of 
peace are too limited to fill the employments of man ; and 
their sincerity, in this doctrine, has been manifested by 
the slaughter of millions. Let it, then, be the high duty 
of those who guide the destinies of the American repub- 
lics, by abstaining from every hostile collision, to demon- 
strate the falsehood of a principle so mortifying to good 
men, and consolatory only to tyrants. Time has not yet, 
indeed, permitted us to see, in its full extent, the effect 
which the principles of government evolved on the Amer- 
ican continent, may have on the habits or practices of 
man; but enough has already been disclosed to cheer the 
friends of peace, and to animate them to new vigilance in 
cherishing those principles, which, abjuring war and 
blood-shed, lead only to peace. 

" In conclusion, let me say, that, while the establish- 
ment of this republic gives to the world a most brilliant 
example of the triumph of valor and of virtue, so may it 
continue to succeeding generations, an illustrious monu- 
ment of the omnipotence of truth and a good cause." 



The H01.Y A1.LIANCE AND THE Monroe 
Doctrine. 

While the Monroe Doctrine was of no assistance 
to the people of South America in obtaining their 
independence, it was undoubtedly of great and 
immediate influence in preventing the destruction 
of republican government in South America by the 
allied powers of Europe. One of the chief objects 
of "the Holy Alliance," formed upon the overthrow 
of Napoleon for the purpose of readjusting the map 
of Europe, was to quench forever the torch of 
liberty lighted at the fires of the French revolu- 
tion. It is an interesting fact, which has escaped 
the historical attention due to it, that no royal house 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 87 

was more anxious to see free institutions overthrown 
in America than the miserable House of Bourbon, 
replaced by foreign bayonets on the throne of 
France, and ever fearful that the French people 
might again 1 e aroused to cast off the degenerate 
and odious dynasty thus reimposed upon them. 
The cabinet of Louis XVIII. attempted by intrigue 
and artifice to establish in the United Provinces — 
now known ns Argentina — a monarchy under a 
European prince related to the Bourbons. The 
prince selected was the Duke of Lucca, and it was 
proposed that France should furnish the necessary 
land and naval forces to support the new king on 
his throne, and that the Duke should marry a 
princess of Brazil. The congress of the United 
Provinces was actually induced to consent to this 
proposal, on the condition that France should 
supply troops, ships and money for the maintenance 
of the monarchy, and that Brazil should make 
certain territorial concessions. The people, how- 
ever, had more virtue than their rulers, and 
although driven to hard straits in resisting Spain, 
they refused to barter their liberties to France. 
The scheme fell through, and those who had favored 
it were treated with indignation and contempt. 
There is no doubt that the announcement of the 
Monroe Doctrine put a quietus for the time being 
upon European intrigue against the South Ameri- 
can republics. These intrigues were, however, 
promptly revived as the United States became 
involved in civil war, and European dynasties were 
once more animated with the hope that the one 
republic in America whose power they feared and 
whose prowess they had been taught by severe 
experience to respect was on the brink of destruc- 
tion. The story of Maximilian needs not to be 
recalled by this generation. Suffice it to say^ that 
never was a capital sentence inflicted more justly 
than in the case of that Austrian prince, and never 
was a more wholesome lesson administered to the 



88 HAND BOOK FOR 

royalties of Europe. Any European prince who 
should volunteer now for a mission similar to that 
of Maximilian would doubtless be looked upon by 
his relatives as a fit subject for medical examina- 
tion as to his sanity. 



How Seward Enforced The Monroe 
Doctrine. 

In a dispatch to the French minister, February 
12, 1866, relating to the presence of the F^'rench in 
Mexico, Secretary of State William H. Seward 
delivered the following practical interpretation of 
the Monroe Doctrine, as applied to one of the 
independent republics of this continent : 

*'The United States have not seen any satisfac- 
tory evidence that the j)eople of Mexico have 
spoken, and have called into being, or accepted, 
the so-called empire, which it is insisted has been 
set up in their capital. The withdrawal of the 
French forces is deemed necessary to allow such a 
proceeding to be taken by Mexico. Of course the 
Emperor of France is entitled to determine the 
aspect in which the Mexican situation ought to be 
regarded by him. Nevertheless the view which I 
have thus presented is the one which this nation 
has accepted. It therefore recognizes, and must 
continue to recognize in Mexico only the ancient 
republic ; and it can in no case consent to involve 
i'sclf, either directly or indirectly, in relation with 
or recognition of the institution of the Prince Maxi- 
milian iu Mexico. Under these circumstances it 
has happened, either rightfully or wrongfully, that 
the presence of European armies in Mexico, main- 
taining a European prince with imperial attributes, 
without her consent and against her will, is deemed 
a source of apprehension and danger, not alone to 
the United States, but also to all the independent 
and sovereign republican States founded on the 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 89 

American continent and its adjacent islands. * * * 
The United States rest content with vsubmitting^ to 
France the exigencies of an embarrassing situation 
in Mexico, and expressing the hope that France 
may find some manner which shall at once be con- 
sistent with her interest and honor, and with the 
principles and interest of the United States, to 
relieve that situation without injurious delay." 

When the Emperor Napoleon, several months 
after this clear and courteous statement of the policy 
of the United States had been transmitted, still 
sought to postpone the withdrawal of the French 
troops, Mr. Seward sent the following ultimatum : 

"The Emperor's decision to modify the existing 
arrangement without any understanding with the 
United States, so as to leave the whole French 
army in Mexico for the present, instead of with- 
drawing one detachment in November current, as 
promised, is now found in every way inconvenient 
and exceptionable. We cannot acquiesce, first, 
because the term * next spring,' as appointed for 
the entire evacuation, is indefinite and vague ; and, 
second, because we have no authority for stating 
to Congress and to the American people that we 
have now a better guarantee for the withdrawal of 
the whole expeditionary force in the spring than 
we have heretofore had for tlie withdrawal of a 
part in November; third, in full reliance upon at 
least a literal performance of the Emperor's existing 
agreement, we have taken measures, while facili- 
tating the anticipated French evacuation, to co- 
operate with the republican government of Mexico 
for promoting the pacification of that country, and 
for the early and complete restoration of the con- 
stitutional authority of that government. The 
President sincerely hopes a}id expects that the 
evacuation of Mexico will be carried into effect 
with such conformity to the existing agreement as 
the inopportune complication which calls for this 
dispatcii shall allow. Instructions will be issued 



90 HAND BOOK FOR 

to the United States military forces of observation 
to await in every case special directions from the 
President. This will be done with a confident ex- 
pectation that the telegra]:»h or the mail may 
seasonably bring us a satisfactory resolution from 
the Emperor in reply to this note." 

In November, iS66, the United States appointed 
a minister, accredited to the republican govern- 
ment of Mexico. Our minister was advised as 
follows : 

** There are some princ^'ples which may be safely laid 
down in regard to the policy which the government will 
expect you to pursue. The first of these is that, as a 
representative of the United States, you are accredited to 
the republican government of Mexico, of which Mr. 
Juares is President. Your communications, as such 
representative, will be made to him, wheresoever he 
may be ; and in no event will you officially recognize the 
Prince Maximilian, who claims to be Emperor, or any 
other person, chief, or combination as exercising the 
executive authority in Mexico, without having first 
reported to this department. * * * It may possibly 
happen that the President of the Republic of Mexico 
may desire the good offices of the United States, or even 
some effective proceedings on our part, to favor and 
advance the pacification of a country so long distracted 
by foreign combined with civil war, and thus gain time 
for the re-establishment of national authority upon prin- 
ciples consistent with a republican and domestic system 
of government. It is possible, moreover, that some dis- 
position might be made of the land and naval forces of 
the United States, without interfering within the jurisdic- 
tion of Mexico, or violating the laws of neutrality, which 
would be useful in favoring the restoration of law, order 
and republican government in that country. The Lieu- 
tenant-General of the United States Army possesses 
already discretionary authority as to the location of the 
forces of the United States in the vicinity of Mexico. 
His military experience will enable him to advise you 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 91 

concerning such questions us may arise during the transi- 
tion stage of Mexico from a state of military siege by a 
foreign enemy to a condition of practical self-government. 
At the same time it will be in his power, being near the 
scene of action, to issue any orders which may be exped- 
ient or necessary for maintaining the obligations resting 
upon the United Slates in regard to proceedings upon the 
borders of Mexico. For the-e reasons he has been 
requested and instructed by the President to proceed 
with you to your destination, and act with you as an 
adviser, recognized by this department, in regard to the 
matters which have been herein discussed." 

The Emperor Napoleon did not wait for the 
United States to take hostile action. The French 
troops were withdrawn, and Maximilian's empire 
fell like a house of cards. 



The Monroe Doctrine To-day. 

Notwithstanding the lesson of Mexico, Europe 
has not given up the idea of controlling American 
destinies, and the Monroe doctrine does not apply- 
only to attempts to impose monarchical institutions 
on free American States. Only two or three years 
ago the Marquis of Lome, son in-law to the Queen 
of Great Britain, of Canada, and I may add also, 
of British Guiana, proposed that England and Ger- 
many should estabUsh a protectorate over the 
Argentine Republic. Such was the statemeiit 
published to the world, and I have never seen it 
denied. It is safe to say that Lome probably re- 
flected the views of Windsor, if not of Downing 
street. The enemies of the republican govern- 
ment in Brazil were, according to published reports, 
' ' financed ' ' in their attempted revolution by British 
capitalists, whose loans were to be repaid on the 
restoration of the empire. The Brazilian rebels 
were certainly supported in the most rabid manner 



92 HAND BOOK FOR 

by the London Times and other Knglish news- 
papers. For years England gave encouragement 
and patronage to a burlesque monarchy on the 
eastern coast of Nicaragua, and recently exacted a 
heavy fine from that republic, ostensibly for injury 
to British subjects, but really as a punishment for 
extending Nicaraguan authority over England's 
proteges on the Mosquito coast. England's en- 
croachment on Venezuela is at present under con- 
sideration by the American Government. The 
Monroe doctrine stands for a principle as vital to 
the welfare of the American people and of the 
American continent to-day as when it was first 
proclaimed in the face of the conquerors of 
Napoleon. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 93 



Part III. 
THB SlyAVBRY ISSUE. 

Antagonism Between North and South. 

While tlie slavery issue is generally regarded as 
the chief cause of the antagonism between North 
and South which resulted in the greatest of modern 
wars, yet that antagonism appears to have existed, 
of course in a less embittered form, even before 
the Revolution. The Puritans of New England 
took a different side from the planters of Virginia 
in the struggle between Cavaliers and Roundheads, 
and the social, religious and political distinctions 
which existed between the two classes in England 
did not lose any of their acerbify in America. The 
two sections made common cause in the Revolu- 
tion, but even during that struggle mutual jealousy 
and dislike occasionally cropped out. General 
Washington, when in command at Boston, was ac- 
cused by the members of the General Court of 
being cold in his manner toward them, and as 
Washington denied the charge of incivility, it 
seems plain that the New England legislators nmst 
have had their imaginations stimulated by distrust. 
Count Axel P'ersen, the distinguished Swedish no- 
bleman who was attached to the American army 
during the Revolution, and who may be regarded 
as an impartial witness, made some excursions in 
Virginia after the capture of Yorktown, and en- 
tered the following observations in his memoirs : 
"All the traders here are regarded as inferior to 
the land owners, who say that the former are not 
gentlemen , and will not associate with them . They 
hold aristocratic principles, and when one sees 
them, one can hardly understand how they have 



94 HAND BOOK FOR 

come to join the general confederation and accept 
a government founded upon conditions of absolute 
equality. But the same spirit which has led them 
to throw off the English yoke might well urge 
the-m on to other measures, and I should not be 
surprised to see Virginia, when peace comes, de- 
tach itself from the other States." Thus Count 
Fersen foretold secession even before independence 
had been achieved. 



Beginning of Negro Slavery. 

Negro slavery had been introduced into the West 
India Islands long before the Dutch ship, in 1619, 
sailed up the James River and landed twenty Afri- 
cans. The fact should be noted that, two years 
after this event, cotton-seed was, for the first time, 
planted at the South, for the growth of slavery and 
the culture of the cotton plant were closely con- 
nected. Tobacco was already (in 1621) very ex- 
tensively grown, and was then produced entirely 
by slave labor. For several years, only a few 
cargoes of negroes were brought to the colonies, 
and these came in Dutch ships ; but, encouraged 
by the English, companies for carrying on the 
trade were formed, and even ships built and owned 
in New England were engaged in the business. In 
the course of time every one of the thirteen col- 
onies had slaves. Some of the colonies remon- 
strated against the trade ; but what could this avail 
so long as the English Government favored the 
trade, and the king himself profited by the gains ? 
In 1750 there were about tv.o thousand slaves in 
Massachusetts ; in New York city about a sixth of 
the population were slaves ; in the tobacco- grow- 
ing colonies— Maryland, Virginia and North Caro- 
lina — a third were slaves ; in South Carolina, 
where rice was the principal production, there 
were more slaves than free persons. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 95 

The Continental Congress, after the adoption of 
the Declaration of Independence, resolved that no 
more slaves should be imported ; but the Constitu- 
tion of the United States, which went into opera- 
tion thirteen years later, permitted such impor- 
tation until the year 1808. Thenceforth no more 
slaves could be brought into the country. Previous 
to the adoption of the Constitution, Congress passed 
an act which is commonly known as the "Ordi- 
nance of 1787." This prohibited slavery in all the 
territory northwest of the Ohio River. Massachu- 
setts was the first State to abolish slavery ; then 
the other Northern States, one after another, most 
of them by a system of gradual emancipation, 
followed the example. Though no more slaves 
were brought to the country, slaves continued to be 
bought aud sold at the South as before. 

S^ave-labor at the North was not profitable, owing 
to the cold climate, which did not agree with the 
African as well as the sunny temperature of the 
South. Yet slavery couhl never have flourished 
in the South but for the cotton-gin. The planta- 
tions were languishing and cotton could be culti- 
vated only in small quantities, because it was diffi- 
cult to separate the fibre from the seed. At this 
time, Eli Whitney, of Massachusetts, went to 
Georgia and invented the cotton-gin. The diffi- 
culty of separating the cotton from the seed was 
removed. The invention set the whole South in 
motion. Not a pound of cotton had been exported 
from the United States in 1792. In 1793, the gin 
was invented. In 1794 one million five hundred 
thousand pounds of cotton were sent to Europe, 
and slave-labor was immediately in demand. 



The Missouri Compromise. 

The difference between the two sections became 
more clearly defined, as slavery disappeared from 



96 HAND BOOK FOR 

the North and increased in the South, When 
Missouri applied for admission into the Union it 
was proposed in Congress to prohibit the introduc- 
tion of slavery into the new State. This had the 
effect of arra5ing the South against the North— the 
slave-holding against the non slave holding States 
— and the whole subject of slavery became an ex- 
citing topic of debate throughout the country. 
The question was disposed of by a compromise 
which tolerated slavery in Missouri, but otherwise 
prohibited it in all the territory of the United 
States, north and west of the northern limits of 
Arkansas. The section of the bill containing the 
compromise was as follows : 

Sec. 8. That in all the territory ceded by France to the 
United States under the name of Louisiana, which lies 
north of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes north lati- 
tude, not included within the limits of the State contem- 
plated by this act, slavery and involuntary servitude, 
otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the 
parties shall have been duly convicted, shall be and is 
hereby forever prohibited ; provided always, that any per- 
son escaping into the same, from whom labor or service is 
lawfully claimed, in any state or territory of the United 
States, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed and con- 
veyed to the person claiming his or her labor or service as 
aforesaid. 



The Wilmot Proviso. 

This agreement, the "Missouri Compromise," 
was observed for a third of a century ; still the 
slavery question cropped out from time to time, 
" abolition societies " became numerous, and when 
Texas, a slave State and a former province of 
Mexico, asked to be admitted into the Union, the 
application, though stoutly resisted by most of the 
Northern members of Congress, was finally 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 97 

granted. The annexation of Texas led to a war 
with Mexico, and this resulted in the cession to 
the United States of a large part of the Mexican 
territory. As slavery in Mexico had been nomi- 
nally abolished more than twenty years, the terri- 
tory thus acquired was "free soil." I say " nomi- 
nally abolished," for serfdom in the form of 
peonage survived in Mexico, and to-day the condi- 
tion of the lower class of agriculturists in that 
country is but little removed from bondage to the 
proprietors of the soil. In anticipation of the 
acquisition, Mr. David Wilmot, of Pennsylvania, 
for himself and other members of Congress from 
the free States, offered an amendment to the bill 
providing for the purchase of Mexican territory to 
the effect "that as an express and fundamental 
condition to the acquisition of any territory from 
the Republic of Mexico by the United Slates, 
neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall 
exist in any part of said territory." This proviso — 
the " Wilmot proviso," as it was afterward called — 
passed the House, but not the Senate, 

Though the "Wilmot proviso" did not meet 
with complete success in Congress, it became the 
foundation-stone of the "Free Sellers, " whose 
party cry in 1848, with ex- President Van Buren as 
their Presidential candidate, was " Free Soil, Free 
Speech, Free Labor, and Free Men." The Free 
Soilers were defeated, but their cause survived, and 
took on fresh life as the opposition to slavery grew. 
The very measures adopted to make slavery im- 
pregnable became factors in its overthrow. Cali- 
fornia, a part of the territory acquired from Mex- 
ico, soon had a large population, and the people, 
who were generally opposed to slavery, sought ad- 
mission to the Union. John C. Calhoun, of South 
Carolina, and other champions of slavery, resisted 
the application, and a violent controversy followed, 
wiiich ended in an agreement known as the 
" Compromise of 1850." 



98 HAND BOOK FOR 

COMPROMISK OF 1850. 

Under this compromise California was admitted 
as a free State, the slave trade — but not slavery — 
was abolished in the District of Columbia, and the 
Fugitive Slave Law was enacted. As this measure 
was one of the chief agencies in exciting the North 
against slavery, and is often alluded to, even to 
this day, in political discussions, it is here given in 
full: 



The Fugitive Slave L4W, 

An Act to amend, and supplementa)y to, the Act entitled 
" An Act respecting Ftigitives from Justice, and per- 
sons escaping from the Service of their Masters^'' 
approved Ftbruary 12, Jjgj. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 
tives of the Unii(d States of America in Congress assem- 
bled. That the persons who have been, or may hereafter 
be, appointed Commissioners, in virtue of any Act of 
Congress, by the Circuit Courts of the United States, and 
who, in consequence of such appointment, are authorized 
to exercise the powers that any justice of the peace, or 
other magistrate of any of the United States, may exercise 
in respect to offenders for any crime or offence against 
the United States, by arrestmg, imprisoning, or bailing 
the same, under and by vntue of the thirty-third section 
of the act of the twenty-fourth of September, seventeen 
hundred and eighty-nine, entitled *' An Act to establish 
the judicial courts of the United States," shall be, and 
are hereby, authorized and required to exercise and dis- 
charge all the powers and duties conferred by this Act. 

Sec. 2. That tlie Superior Court of each organized 
territory of the United States shall have the same power 
to appoint Commissioners to take acknowledgments of 
bail and afBdavits, and to take depositions of witnesses 
in civil causes, which is now possessed by the Circuit 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 99 

Court of the United States ; and all Commissioners who 
shall hereafter be appointed for such purposes by the 
Superior Court of any organized territory of the United 
States, shall possess all the powers, and exercise ail the 
duties, conferred by law upon the Commissioners ap- 
pointed by the Circuit Courts of the United States for 
similar purposes, and shall moreover exercise and dis- 
charge all the powers and duties conferred by this Act. 

Stc. 3. That the Circuit Courts of the United States, 
and the Superior Courts of each organized territory of the 
United States shall from time to time charge the number 
of Commissioners with a view to afford reasonable facili- 
ties to reclaim fugitives from labor, and to the prompt 
discharge of the duties imposed by this Act. 

Sec. 4. That the Commissioners above named shall 
have concurrent jurisdiction with the Judges of the Circuit 
and District Courts of the United States, in their respec- 
tive circuiis and districts within the several States, and 
the Judges of the Superior Courts of the territories 
severally and collectively, in term-time and vacation; and 
shall grant certificates to such claimants, upon satisfactory 
proof being made, with authority to take and remove 
such fugitives from service or labor, under the restrictions 
herein contained, to the state or territory from which 
such persons may have escaped or fled. 

Sec. 5. That it shall be the duty of all marshals and 
deputy marshals to obey and execute all warrants and 
precepts issued under the provisions of this act, when to 
them directed ; and should any marshal or deputy mar- 
shal refuse to receive such warrant, or other process, 
when tendered, or to use all proper means diligently to 
execute the same, he shall, on conviction thereof, be fined 
in the sum of one thousand dollars, to the use of such 
claimant, on the motion of such claimant, by the Circuit 
or District Court for the district of such marshal ; and 
after arrest of such fugitive, by such marshal or his 
deputy, or whilst at any time in his custody, under the 
provisions of this act, should such fugitive escape, whether 
with or without the assent of such marshal or his deputy, 
such marshal shall be liable, on his official bond to be 



loo HAND BOOK FOR 

prosecuted for the benefit of such claimant, for the full 
value of the service or labor of said fugitive in ihe state, 
territory, or district whence he escaped; and the beiier to 
enable said Commissioners, when thus appointed, to 
execute their duties faithfully and efficiently, in conformity 
with the requirements of the Constitution of the United 
States, and of this Act, they are hereby authorized and 
empowered, within their counties respectively, to appoint, 
in writing under their hands, any one or more suitable 
persons, from time to time, to execute ail such warrants 
and other process as may be issued by them in the lawful 
performance of their respective duties; with authorUy to 
such Commissioners, or the persons to be appointed by 
them, to execute process as aforesaid, to summon and 
call to their aid the bystanders, or posse comitatus of the 
proper county, when necessary to insure a faithful obser- 
vance of the clause of the Constitution referred to, in 
conformity with the provisions of this act; and all good 
citizens are commanded to aid and assist in the prompt 
and efificient execution of this law, whenever their services 
may be required, as aforesaid, for that purpose ; and said 
warrants shall run, and be executed by said officers, any- 
where in the state within which they are issued. 

Sec. 6. That when a person held to service or labor in 
any state or territory of the United States, has heretofore 
or shall hereafter escape into another state or territory of 
the United States, the person or persons to w!ic m such 
service or labor may be due, or his, her or their agent or 
attorney, duly authorized by power of attorney, in writing 
acknowledged and certified under the seal of some legal 
officer or Court of the slate or territory in which the same 
may be executed, may pursue and reclaim such fugitive 
person, either by procuring a warrant from some one of 
the Courts, Judges, or Commissioners aforesaid, of the 
proper circuit, district, or county, for the apprehension of 
such fugitive from service or labor, or by seizing and 
arresting such fugitive where the same can be d(me 
without process, and by taking or causing such person to 
be taken forthwith before such Court, Judge or Com- 
missioner, whose duty it shall be to hear and determine 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. lor 

the case of such claimant in a summary manner ; and 
upon satisfactory proof being made, by deposition or 
athdavit, in writing, to be taken, and certified by such 
Court, Judge or Commissioner, or by other satisfactory 
testimony, duly taken and certified by some Court, Magis- 
trate, Justice of the Peace, or other legal officer authorized 
to administer an oath and take depositions under the 
laws of the state or territory from which such person 
owing service or labor may have escaped, with a certifi- 
cate of such magistracy, or other authority as aforesaid, 
wiih the seal of the proper Court or officer thereto 
attached, which seal shall be sufficient to establish the 
competency of the proof, and with proof, also by affidavit, 
of the identity of the person whose service or labor is 
claimed to be due as aforesaid, that the person so arrested 
does in fact owe service or labor to the person or persons 
claiming him or her, in the state or territory from which 
such fugitive may have escaped as aforesaid, and that 
said person escaped, to make out and deliver to said 
claimant, his or her agent or attorney, a certificate setting 
forth the substantial facts as to the service or labor due 
from such fugitive to the claimant, and of his or her 
escape from the state or territory in which such service or 
labor was due to the state or territory in which he or she 
was arrested, with authority to such claimant, or his or 
her agent or attorney, to use such reasonable force and 
restraint as may be necessary, under the circumstances 
of the case, to take and remove such fugitive person back 
to the state or territory whence he or she may have 
escaped as aforesaid. In no trial or hearing under this 
Act shall the testimony of such alleged fugitive be ad- 
mitted in evidence; and the certificates in this and the 
first [fourth] section mentioned, shall be conclusive of 
the right of the person or persons in whose favor granted, 
to remove such fugitive to the state or territory from 
which he escaped, and shall prevent all molestation of 
such person or persons by any process issued by any 
Court, Judge, Magistrate, or other person whomsoever. 

Sec. 7. That any person who shall knowingly and 
willingly obstruct, hinder, or prevent such claimant, his 



I02 HAND BOOK FOR 

agent or attorney, or any person or persons lav/fully 
assisting him, her or them, from arresting such a fugitive 
from service or labor, either \viih or without process as 
aforesaid, or shall rescue or attempt to rescue such 
fugitive from service or labor, from the custody of such 
claimant, his or her agent or attorney, or other person or 
persons lawfully assisting as aforesaid, when so arrested 
pursuant to the authority herein given anddeclared, or shall 
aid, abet, or assist such person so owing service or labor 
as aforesaid, directly or indirectly, to escape from such 
claimant, his agent or attorney, or other person or persons 
legally authorized as aforesaid ; or shall harbor or conceal 
such fugutive so as to prevent the discovery and arrest of 
such person, after notice or knowledge of the fact that 
such person was a fugitive from service or labor as 
aforesaid, shall, for either of said offences, be subject to a 
fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprison- 
ment not exceeding six months, by indictment and con- 
viction before the District Court of the United States, for 
the district in which such offence may have been commit- 
ted, or before the proper court of criminal jurisdiction, if 
committed within any one of the organized territories of 
the United States, and shall moreover forfeit and pay, by 
way of civil damages to the party injured by such illegal 
conduct, the sum of one thousand dollars, for each fugitive 
so lost as aforesaid, to be recovered by action of debt in 
any of the District or Territorial Courts aforesaid, within 
whose jurisdiction the said offence may have been com- 
mitted. 

Sec. 8. That the marshals, their deputies, and the 
clerks of the said District and Territorial Courts, shall be 
paid for their services the like fees as may be allowed to 
them for similar services in other cases ; and where such 
services are rendered exclusively in the arrest, custody, 
and delivery of the fugitive to the claimant, his or her 
agent or attorney, or where such supposed fugitive may 
be discharged out of custody for the want of sufficient 
proof as aforesaid, then such fees are to be paid in the 
whole by such claimant, his agent or attorney ; and in all 
cases where the proceedings are before a Commissioner, 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 103 

he shall be entitled to a fee of ten dollars in full for his 
services in each case, upon the delivery of the said cer- 
tificate to the claimant, his or her agent or attorriey ; or a 
fee of five dollars in cases v^^here the proof shall not, in 
the opinion of such Commissioner, warrant such certificate 
and delivery, inclusive of all services incident to such 
arrest and examination, to be paid in either case by the 
claimant, his or her agent or attorney. The person or 
persons authorized to execute the process to be issued by 
such Commissioner for the arrest and detention of fugi- 
tives from service or labor as aforesaid, shall also be en- 
titled to a fee of five dollars each, for each person he or 
they may arrest and take before any such Commissioner, 
as aforesaid, at the instance and request of such clamiant, 
with such other fees as may be deemed reasonable by such 
Commissioner for such other additional services as may be 
necessarily performed by him or ihem ; such as attending 
at the examination, keeping the fugitive in custody, and 
providing him with food and lodging during his deten- 
tion, and until the final determination of such Com- 
missioner; and, in general, for performing such other 
duties as n^ay be requned by such claimant, his or her 
attorney or agent, or Commissioner in the premises. Such 
tees to be made up in conformity with the fees usually 
charged by the officers of the courts of justice within the 
proper district or county, as near as may be practicable, 
and paid by such claimants, their agents or attorneys, 
whether'such supposed fugitives from service or labor be 
ordered to be delivered to such claimants by the final 
determmation of such Commissioner or not. 

Sec. 9. That, upon aiifidavit made by the claimant of 
such fugitive, his agent or attorney, after such certificate 
has been issued, that he has leason to apprehend that 
such fugitive will be rescued by force from his or her 
possession before he can be taken beyond the limits of 
the State in which the arrest is made, it shall be the duty 
of the officer making the arrest to retain such fugitive in 
his custody, and to remove him to the State whence he 
fled, and there to deliver him to said claimant, his agent 
or attorney. And to this end the officer aforesaid is hereby 



I04 HAND BOOK FOR 

authorized and required to employ so many persons as he 
may deem necessary to overcome such force, and to retam 
them in his service so long as circumstances may require. 
The said officer and his assistants while so empLiyed Uf 
receive the same compensation, and to be allowed the 
same expenses as are now allowed by law for transporta- 
tion of criminals, to be certified by the judge of the dis- 
trict within which the arrest is made, and paid out of the 
treasury of the United States, 

Sec. io. That when any person held to service or 
labor in any State or Territory, or in the District of Colum- 
bia, shall escape therefrom, the party to whom such ser- 
vice or labor may be due, his, her, or their agent or 
attorney, may apply to any court of record therein, or 
judge thereof in vacation, and make satisfactory proof to 
such court or judge in vacation, of the escape aforesaid, 
and that the person escaping owe I service or labor to 
such party. VVhereupon the court shall cause a record to 
be made of the matters so proved, and also a general 
description of the person so escaping, with such conveni- 
ent certainty as may be; and a transcript of such record, 
authenticated by the attestation of the clerk and of the 
seal of the said court, being produced in any other State, 
Territory or district in which the person so escaping may 
be found, and being exhibited to any Judge, Commis- 
sioner, or other officer authorized by the law of the United 
States to cause persons escaping from service or labor to 
be delivered up, shall be held and taken to be full 
and conclusive evidence of the fact of the escape, and 
that the service or labor of the person escaping is due to 
the party in such record mentioned. And upon the pro- 
duction by the said party of other and further evidence 
if necessary, either oral or by affidavit, in addition to 
what is contained in the said record of the identity of the 
person escaping, he or she shall be delivered up to the 
claimant. And the said Court, Commissioner, Judge, or 
other person authorized by this Act to grant certificates to 
claimants of fugitives, shall, U[)on the production of the 
record and other evidences aforesaid, grant to such claim- 
ant a certificate of his right to take any such person iden> 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 105 

tifierl and proved to be owing service or labor as aforesaid, 
which shall authorize such claimant to seize or arrest and 
transport such pers<in to the State or Territory from which 
he escaped : Provided, That nothing herein contained 
shall be constiued as requiring the production of a tran- 
script of sued record as evidence as aforesaid. But in its 
absence the cla'm shall be heard and determined upon 
otht^r satis'actory proofs, competent in law. 
Approved September 18, 18^0. 

Instead of quieting the controversy, the " Fugi- 
tive Slave Law" only made it more bitter. Four 
years later the slavery question was revived iu 
Congress by the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska 
Bill, the slave-holding States gaining once more 
what, for the time being, seemed an advantage. 



Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. 

In the Act of 1854, to organize the Territories of 
Kansas and Nebraska, the so-called Missouri Com- 
promise was declared null and void, as follows : 

Section 14. * * * That the Constitution, and all the 
laws of the United States which are not locally inapplica- 
ble, shall have the same force and effect within the said 
territory of Nebraska as elsewhere within the United 
States, except the eighth section of the Act preparatory 
to the admission of Missouri into the Union, approved 
March sixth, eighteen hundred and twenty, which, being 
inconsistent with the principle of non-intervention by 
Congress with slavery in the States and Territories, as 
recognized by the legislation of eighteen hundred and 
fifty, commonly called the Compromise Measures, is 
hereliy declared inoperative and void ; it being the true 
intent and meaning of this Act not to legislate slavery 
into any Territ')ry or State, nor to exclude it therefrom, 
but to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form and 
regulate their domestic institutions in their own way. 



lo6 HAND BOOK FOR 

subject only to the Constitution of the United States : 
Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be con- 
strued to revive or put in force any law or regulation 
which may have existed prior to the Act of March sixth, 
eighteen hundred and twenty, either protecting, estab- 
lishing, prohibiting or abolishing slavery. 

This repeal of the Missouri Compromise led to 
tremendous excitement throughout the North. 
The old political organizations broke up, and the 
Republican party came into existence, as successor 
to the Free Soil party. The Democrats and Whigs 
had been divided within their respective party 
lines on the slavery issue ; but now the Democrats 
opposed to slavery abandoned their party and 
joined with the great mass of the Whigs in form- 
ing the Republican party which took the field in 
1856, with General John C. Fremont, of California, 
as its standard-bearer for President. James Buch- 
anan, of Pennsylvania, was nominated by the 
Democrats. In the election which followed, every 
Southern State voted for Buchanan, except Mary- 
land, which voted for Millard Fillmore, the candi- 
date of the ephemeral "American" organization. 
Buchanan carried in the North his own State of 
Pennnsylvania, and the States of New Jersey, 
Indiana, Illinois and California. Eleven Northern 
States voted for Fremont. The popular vote was : 
for Buchanan, 1,838,169; Fremont, 1,341,264 ; Fill- 
more, 874,534- 



Buchanan's Hope— Lincoln's Prophecy. 

In his inaugural address President Buchanan ex- 
pressed the hope ' ' that the long agitation of the 
slavery question was approaching its end." Far 
more prophetic was the declaration of Aljraham 
Lincoln in joint debate with Senator Douglas in 
Illinois — " I believe this government cannot endure 
permanently half slave, half free. I do not expect 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 107 

the Union to be dissolved ; I do not expect the 
house to fall ; but I do expect it will cease to be 
divided. It will become all one thing or all the 
other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest 
the further spread of it, and place it where the 
public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the 
course of ultimate extinction, or its advocates will 
push it forward till it shall become alike lawful in 
all the States, old as well as new. North as well as 
South." From the beginning to the end of Presi- 
dent Buchanan's term the struggle between free- 
dom and slavery for the control of the territories 
continued. There was bloodshed in Kansas, and 
hot and angry debates in Congress. In i860 Mr. 
Lincoln was nominated for President by the Repub- 
lican Convention on a platform of opposition to 
slavery extension. The Democratic Convention 
split in twain after a prolonged and bitter contro- 
versy at Charleston, S. C. The Southern wing of 
the party nominated John C. Breckinridge, of Ken- 
tucky, and the Northern wing Stephen A. Douglas. 
The Republicans marched to an easy and certain 
triumph. Lincoln carried every free State with the 
exception of New Jersey which divided her elec- 
toral votes, Lincoln obtaining four. Breckinridge 
carried every slave State save four— Virginia, Ken- 
tucky, and Maryland voting for John Bell, Con- 
servative Unionist, and Missouri for Douglas. 

Secession followed in eleven of the Southern 
States. While on the part of the North the war 
was carried on for the preservation of the Union 
and not for the suppression of slavery, yet the 
emancipation of the slaves was a foregone conclu- 
sion from the first, should the North succeed. The 
Emancipation Proclamation sent forth by President 
Lincoln on New Year's Day, 1863, was a war 
measure, issued in accordance with the President's 
duty and authority as commander-in-chief, to 
weaken by every means the forces of the enemy. 
In effect it was the greatest work of constitutional 



lo8 HAND BOOK FOR 

reform that ever emanated from the hand of man. 
It had force, however, only where the Union armies 
obtained control of territory previously held by the 
Confederates, and was therefore not in complete 
effect until the close of the war. The Thirteenth 
Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
States, riveted the abolition of slavery in the Con- 
stitution finally and forever. 

Following is the Emancipation Proclamation : 

Proclamation. 

Whereas, On the 22d day of September, in the year 
of our Lord 1862, a proclamation was issued by the 
President of the United States, contaimng among other 
things the following, to wit : 

That on the first day of January in the year of our Lord 
1863, all persons held as slaves within any State, or any 
designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then 
be m rebelhon against the United States, shall be thence- 
forward and forever free, and the executive government 
of the United States, including the military and naval 
authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom 
of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such 
persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for 
their actual freedom : 

That the executive will, on the isl day of January afore- 
said, by proclamation, designate the S'ates and parts of 
States, if any, in which ihe people thereof respectively 
shall tlien be in rebellion against the United States, and 
the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that 
day be in good faith represented in the Congress of the 
United States by members chosen thereto at elections 
wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State 
shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong 
countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence 
that such State and the people thereof are not then in re- 
bellion against the United States : 

Now, therefore, 1, Al)raham Lincoln, President of the 
United vStates, by virtue of the power in me vested as 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 109 

commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United 
States, in time of actual armed rebellion against the au- 
thority and government of the United States, and as a fit 
and necessary war-measure for repressing said rebellion, 
do, on this ist day of January, in the year of our Lord 1 863, 
and in accordance with my purpose so to do, publicly pro- 
claim for the full period of 100 days from the day of the 
first above-mentioned order, and designate as the Slates 
and parts of States wherein the people thereof respec- 
tively are this day in rebellion against the United States, 
the following, to wit : Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, 
except the parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jeffer- 
son, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, Assump- 
tion, Terre Bonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin and 
Orleans, including the city of New Orleans, Mississippi, 
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Caro- 
lina, and Virginia, except the 48 counties designated as 
West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkeley, 
Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess 
Ann and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and 
Portsmouth, and which excepted parts are, for the present, 
left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued. 

And by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, 
I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves 
within said designated States and parts of States are, and 
henceforward shall be, free ; and that the executive gov- 
ernment of the United States, including the military and 
naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the 
freedom of said persons. 

And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be 
free, to abstain from all violence unless in necessary self- 
defence, and I recommend to them that in all cases, when 
allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages. 

And I further declare and make known that such 
persons of suitable condition will be received into the 
armed service of the United States to garrison forts, posi- 
tions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all 
sorts in said service. 

And upon this, sincerely believed to be an act of 
justice, warranted by the constitution, upon military 



no HAND BOOK FOR 

necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind 
aaid the gracious favor of Almighty God. 

In vi'itness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and 
caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. 

[l. s.] Done at the city of Washington, this 1st day of 
January, in the year of our Lord 1863, and of the Inde- 
pendence of the United States the 87th. 

Abraham Lincoln. 
By the President : 

William H. Seward, Secretary of State. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. i" 



Part IV. 

THE TARIFF ISSUE. 

As OivD AS THB Union. 

The tariff issue has been before the American 
people ever since the foundation of the Union. 
The volumes written for and agamst a tarift tor 
protection would fill a vast library, and both sides 
remain just as convinced of the soundness of their 
respective arguments as when the controversy 
becran at the first session of Congress under the 
Constitution. It has almost ceased to be a question 
of the encouragement of domestic manufactures— 
which have mostly grown to adult proportions- 
and is now a question of the exclusion of foreign 
manufactures in order that our own may supply 
the domestic market. The present sentiment of 
the country is almost universally favorable to a 
moderately protective tariff. Public opinion in 
the South has, in this respect, changed greatly 
since the South began to manufacture its own cot- 
ton into cloth, to develop its mines, and subdue 
its magnificent water power to the service ot in- 
dustry The American people are not m favor ol 
a tariff so high as to make the American manu- 
facturer independent of the consumer's rights and 

It was natural that the South should have 
opposed a high tariff in the slave-labor period. 
The South produced raw material, on which no 
protection was given or desired, and was sure of a 
market for that material in Europe as well as the 
United States. The South wanted to buy goods as 
cheaply as possible with the money received lor 



112 HAND BOOK FOR 

cotton and tobacco, and the tariff interfered with 
freedom to purchase in the cheapest market 
Hence the mdignation expressed by certain citizens 
ol bouth Carohna m a petition to their Legislature 
protestmg against the tariff legislation of 1828' 
and praying to be saved, if possible, "from the 
conjoint grasp of usurpation and poverty." Hence 
the attempt of South Carolina in 1832 to nullify 
the Tariff Law, and President Jackson's message 
declaring that the laws of the United States must 
be obeyed. 

While the South regarded the protective system 
as a grievance and a burden, the North, and 
especiallj' New England, supported it for manifest 
reasons. The people of New England made con- 
siderable wealth m commerce before losing their 
commercial precedence, but, notwithstanding the 
fortunes thus accumulated. New England would 
have been left m barren plight but for the intro- 
duction and establishment of manufactures. Man- 
ufactures were to New England what cotton and 
slaves were to the South. The stonv valleys were 
planted with factory villages, and rivulets, dam.med 
by great embankments, became ponds large 
enough to turn the wheels of many a busy mill 
The New England and other Northern manufac- 
turers strove unceasingly to keep up protective 
duties and to restrict foreign competition and 
wnile sometimes subjected to low tariff rates, they 
were never wholly abandoned by the national 
legislature. 



Tariff Legisi^ation. 
The tariff pohcy of Congress before the late 
civil war was unsettled and vacillating, the com- 
promise feature, so prominent also in the slavery 
issue, being ever at the front in dealing with pro- 
tective duties. The dispute over the tariff of 1828- 
32 was compromised by agreement upon a biU 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 113 

introduced by Henry Clay, and providing for a 
gradual reduction of duties. In 1842 another 
tariff bill was passed, conferring substantial pro- 
tection, but in 1846 Congress enacted a measure 
devoid of protective features, and placing the 
tariff on a revenue basis. The "Tariff of 1857 " 
placed duties lower than they had been at any 
time since the virtual beginning of protection after 
the war of 181 2. The tariff of 1857 was not in any 
narrow seuse a partisan measure. The Senators 
from Massachusetts voted for it as well as the Sen- 
ators from South Carolina, and it was fondly 
hoped by leading statesmen of both the Republican 
and Democratic parties that the interests of the 
whole country would be harmonized and benefited 
by the change. The hope proved as illusory as in 
the case of slavery. Importations were greatly 
stimulated by the reduction of duties, and when a 
disastrous panic swept over the country a few 
months later, the calamity was connected in the 
popular mind with the stride back toward free- 
trade conditions. 

Up to the time of the civil war, the principle of 
protection as opposed to the principle of free trade 
had been the cardinal issue in tariff discussions 
and changes. The enormous expenses of the war 
made it necessary to raise revenue by ever}' means 
which the Constitution permitted, and the "Mor- 
rill Tariff "—so called from Senator Lot M. Morrill, 
of Maine— was ena :ted, adding largely to the 
duties on certain, imported articles, and imposing 
duties on many articles that were before exempt. 
For the time being the South was out of the con- 
troversy, and New England had her own way in 
framing this tariff It may be mentioned here that 
the Constitution of the Southern Confederacy pro- 
hibited the imposition of any duties except for 
revenue. The " Morrill Tariff" and other supple- 
mentary measures dealing with duties on imports 
gave high protection to the leading manufacturing 
industries of the North. 



114 HAND BOOK FOR 

The Tariff After the War. 

Owing to the continuous demand for revenue to 
meet the increased expenses of the Government, 
fulfill the obligations of the war and maintain the 
national credit, the tariff issue was in suspense until 
the national elections of iSSo. The South, utterly 
prostrate and exhausted at the close of the war, 
was in the mean time rebuilding her shattered 
homes on the sure foundation of free labor instead 
of the quicksand of slavery, and her statesmen 
had problems to deal with which came nearer their 
hearthstones than that of the tariff. It took the 
South at least fifteen years to stand forth in fresh 
vigor and full consciousness of its power and re- 
sponsibility as a section of the Union, and this re- 
covery of the South was contemporaneous with the 
recovery of the nation fiom the financial burdens 
of the war. Instead of the question being how to 
raise revenue for national needs, the question was 
what to do with the surplus revenue. The tariff 
issue was again forced to the front, therefore, by 
the logic of the situation. Southern hostility to 
protection had diminished because the South now 
needed protection, but the South, as a section, 
supported tariff reduction both on account of Dem- 
ocratic party traditions, and because the Southern 
people believed the benefits of the tariff to be 
disproportionately in favor of Northern manu- 
facturers. 



Becomes the Leading Issue. 

The Republicans elected General Garfield in 
1880 on a platform which declared for maintaining 
a scale of duties that Avould continue to protect 
American industries against foreign competition. 
The Democrats pronounced in favor of a tariff for 
revenue with incidental protection. In 1882 Con- 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 115 

gress appointed a Commission to report upon the 
expediency of reducing the tariff duties, and a bill 
was passed, in accordance with the recommenda- 
tions of the Commission, making certain reduc- 
tions The national contest of 1884 was fonyht 
chiefly on the tariff issue, and the defeat of the 
Republicans indicated that the nation was prepared 
for some measure of reform. Mr. Cleveland s 
message of December, 1887, was devoted exclu- 
sively to the subject of the tariff. He characterized 
the existing tariff laws as "vicious, inequitable 
and illogical." The Democratic House of Repre- 
sentatives, in accordance with the suggestions con- 
tained in the President's Message, passed the 
" Mills Bill," removing the duty on wool, and in- 
tended to reduce the revenue by fully 150,000,000. 
The Republican Senate offered a substitute repeal- 
ing the tax on tobacco and reducing the duty on 
sugar nearly one-half, the estimated reduction 
under this bill being about |65,ooo,ooo. In the 
national election of 1888 the Democrats had a 
maiority of the popular vote, but a minority of the 
Electoral College, and the Republicans, notwith- 
standing their victory, concluded that the demand 
for a revision of the tariff could not be ignored. 
The Fifty-second Congress therefore enacted the 
McKinley Law, which, while it removed the duties 
on-aiig^ar,if not above 16 Dutch standard and on a 
mim^r of other articles, added considerably to 
the duties on woolen manufactures, cotton and silk 
goods, tin plates and various other articles of gen- 
eral use by consumers. The McKinley Law m effect 
largely raised, instead of reducing, the tarilt rates 
from the standpoint of the shopping public, while 
the removal of duty on raw sugar wa^; more than 
counterbalanced by the duty on refined sugar, 
which enabled the Sugar Trust to make vast prohts 
out of that article of common table consumption. 
Two Republican defeats— each of them overwhelm- 
ing— in 1890 and 1892-seemed to give emphatic 



Ii6 HAND BOOK FOR 

notice that the nation was not satisfied with the 
McKinley Law. The election of 1892 was con- 
tested on the issue of that law, with a complication 
of labor troubles which weakened the cause of 
protection. 



The \Vii,son Tariff Law. 

The struggle which preceded the enactment of 
the so-called Wilson Tariff Law, sometimes called 
the " Wilson-Gorman Tariff" on account of the 
agency of Senator Gorman of Maryland in making 
changes in the bill as it came from the House, was 
one of the most disgraceful in the history of 
American legislation. The bill passed the House 
of Representatives without scandal, but it was 
alleged, when the measure reached the Senate, 
that wrongful influences had been brought to bear 
upon Senators to secure their advocacy of con- 
tinued high protection for refined sugar. An in- 
vestigation was held, and the -committee appointed 
to make the inquiry reported that no charge had 
been filed before it thai the action of any Senator 
had been " corruptly or improperly influenced in 
the consideration of the tariff bill, or that any 
attempt had been made to so influence legislation." 
The bill went back to the House retaining free 
wool as the only original feature of importance, 
and was received in that body with a burst of 
indignant protest. Meantime influences were 
actively at work in the Senate, and there is ground 
for believing that, had the measure gone back to 
that body a sufficient number of votes would have 
been obtained to defeat the measure and leave the 
McKinley Law in operation. The consummation 
of this alleged bargain was defeated by the passage 
of the bill in the House with all the Senate amend- 
ments. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 117 

The principal differences between the Wilson 
and McKinley Laws and the tariff of 1883, are 
indicated by the following table : 

TARIFF RATES COMPARED, 

Schedule. Cotton. Flax. Wool. Silk. 

"New IsLW, Y^er cent aJ valorem, . 41 32 41 46 

McKinley taiiff, 55 42 99 53 ^ 

Mills bill, ;^^ 25 40 50 

Tariff of 1S83, 35 31 67 45 

The sugar bounty is abolished, and a duty of 
forty per cent ad va/orem imposed upon raw sugar, 
which before was free, while refined sugar pays 
one-eighth of a cent a pound and forty per cent, 
against one-half a cent under the late tariff. Wool, 
raw hides, and many other articles are duty free. 
Other diflerences are apparent in the following 
statement compiled by the treasury department : 

Old Rate. New Rate. 

China, painted, etc., 60.00 35.00 

Bottles, empty, 70.01 52.63 

Bottles, filled, 71.48 53-61 

Demijohns, empty, 37.91 28.43 

Manufactures of glass, . . . . 60.00 35 .00 

Cylinder glass, polished, unsilvered, 20 to 64 13 to 48 

Plate glass, unsilvered, cast, etc., . 98 to 174 88 to 122 
Plate glass, cast, silvered, above 24 

by 60, 49.39 31.28 

Stained or painted window glass, . 45.00 35.00 

Roofing slate, 25.00 20.00 

Iron ore, 42.77 22.27 

Iron in pigs, etc., 36 to 41 15 to 21 

Scrap iron, 47-83 28.47 

Scrap steel, 43.00 25.59 

Bar iron, 25 to 53 16 to 32 

Bars of rolled iron, 61.77 44-93 

Boiler or other plate iron or steel, . 54.00 25.00 

Rails of sleel, 58.24 33-99 



Il8 HAND BOOK FOR 

Old Rate. New Rate. 
Sheets of iron or steel, common or 

black, 251070 20 to 55 

Tin plates, 78.44 42.32 

Tin, Manufactures of Steel ingots, 

etc., 29 to 50 20 to 40 

Cast-iron vessels, etc., 26.97 i7-9^ 

Malleable iron castings, ..... 3^ -^3 16-37 

Hollowware, 35.33 23.55 

Firearms, 41 i.j So 30.00 

Nails, 23 to 45 26 to 30 

Railway fish plates, 72.18 25.00 

Hand, back, and other saws, . . . 40.00 25.00 

Screws 47 to ill 331067 

Wheels, 83.72 41.86 

Plates (rolled), braziers' copper, . 35 -oo 20.00 

Gold leaf, 4487 3000 

Silver leaf, 77-78 30.00 

Lead, sheet, 3665 18.33 

Nickel, 23.77 14.26 

Pins, 30.00 25.00 

Zinc, in sheets, 29.19 14-59 

Manufactures of metal, 45. 00 35-00 

Casks, barrels and boxes, ..... 30.00 20.00 

Blocks, wood, 35-00 25.00 

Rice, cleaned iii.85 83.89 

Rice, uncleaned, 64.19 41.08 

Oranges, lemons and limes, ... 12 to 31 12 to 32 

Spirits, distilled, 91 to 367 65 to 264 

Cotton cloths, not over 100 threads, 

not bleached, 35-17 3505 

Cotton, bleached, 38.60 26.53 

Cotton, dyed, colored, etc., . . . 40.80 30.54 
Cotton, exceeding 100 threads, not 

bleached, 42.39 32.39 

Cotton, bleached, 43-27 35-oo 

Cotton, dyed, etc 43-84 38.84 

Cables, cordage and twine, ... 161031 lo to 20 

Bagging for cotton 32.52 Free 

Woolen yams 278.66 30.00 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 119 

Old Rate. New Rate, 
Shawls, woolen, not above forty 

cents per pound 136.00 35 -oo 

Blankets, 80 to 104 35-00 

Hats of wool, 86 to 107 3500 

Plannels, not over fifty cents per 

pound, 85 to 104 25 to 35 

Silk, partially manufactured, . . 60.50 20.00 
Silk webbings, gros-grains, dress 

goods, etc., ... ... 50.00 45.00 

Writing, drawing and other paper, 

N. S. P., 35-00 20.C0 

Dolls and other toys, 35.oo 25.00 

Coal, bituminous, . ..... 22.72 12. 12 

Slack, or culm of coal, 28.68 14-34 

Coke, 20.00 15.00 

Matches, 33-93 20.00 

Haircloth, known as crinoline cloth, ^7-99 20.99 

Haircloth, known as hair seating . 23.22 15-4^ 

Leather, bend or belting and sole, . 10.00 1000 

Calfskins, japanned, 30.00 20.09 

Leaiher,all not specially provided for, 10.00 10.00 

Boots and shoes, 25.00 20.00 

Manufactures of India rubber, . , 30.00 25.00 

Composition metal, copper, . . . 6.49 Free 

Plates of copper, not rolled, . . . 11.80 Free 

Bindmg twine, 6.47 Free 

Paintings in oil or water colors, . . 15.00 Free 

Statuary, 1 5.00 Free 

Hatters* plush, 10.00 Free 



Reciprocity. 

The Wilson Law also repealed what was known 
as the "Reciprocity Section" of the McKinley 
Law, which had been intended especially to gain 
the trade of Central and South America for the 
United States. The Reciprocity Section provided 
that " whenever and so often as the President shall 



I20 HAND BOOK FOR 

/ be satisfied that the government of any country 
producing and exporting sugar, molasses, coffee, 
tea, and hides, raw or uncured, or any such articles, 
imposes duties or other exactions upon the agricul- 
tural or other products of the United States, which 
in view of the free introduction of such sugar, 
molasses, coffee, tea and hides into the United 
States he may deem to be reciprocally unequal and 
unreasonable, he shall have the power, and it shall 
be his duty to suspend by proclamation to that 
effect the provisions of this act relating to the free 
introduction of such sugar, molasses, coffee, tea and 
hides, the production of such country, for such 
time as he shall deem just, and in such case and 
during such suspension duties shall be levied, col- 
lected and paid upon sugar, molasses, coffee, tea 
and hides, the product of, or exported from such 
designated country as follows," etc. In pursuance 
of this provision reciprocity treaties had been 
negotiated with Spain and Brazil. Honduras, Sal- 
vador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, San Domingo, Ger- 
many, Austria-Hungary and Great Britain for 
Jamaica and her other West Indian colonies and 
British Guiana. The effect of the reciprocity treaty 
with Spain had been highly favorable, the British 
consul-general, at Havana, being quoted as saying : 
" British trade with Cuba has almost become a 
thing of the past ; and under the recent reciprocity 
treaty the United States of America practically 
supplies all the wants of the islands and receives 
all its produce. The effect has been to throw 
nearly the entire Cuban trade into the hands of the 
United States traders, with whom importers of 
goods from less favored nations cannot compete, 
having to pay by the terms of such a treaty higher 
import duties. ' ' On the passage of the Wilson Law 
Spain promptly abrogated the treaty, and Brazil 
soon afterward gave three months' notice of abro- 
gation. All the treaties based on reciprocity have 
terminated. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 121 

Part V. 
THE SIIvVER QUESTION. 

Demonetization op Sii^ver. 

The silver question is one of the most important 
before the people of the United States. It is a 
question which involves the interests not only of 
the so-called silver States, but of all the Union, and 
the financial credit of the nation at home and 
abroad. It has not reached a final solution, and 
the result of the coming Presidential election may- 
depend upon whether the voters in the silver- 
mining regions prefer the advocacy of free silver 
to their accustomed party allegiance. 

The first United States Coinage Act was passed 
in 1792, and authorized the unrestricted mintage of 
gold and silver at the then prevalent ratio of i to 
15. One ounce of gold having become, in 1834, 
equal in commercial value to about 16 ounces of 
silver, Congress in that year changed the ratio to i 
to 15,988, or practically i to 16. While the com- 
mercial value of silver has varied considerably 
since 1834. the legal ratio has remained the same. 
Congress in 1873 demonetized the silver dollar. 
This enactment has been and is the subject of so 
much controversy that it may be well to quote the 
provisions bearing upon silver demonetization. 

'* Sec. 14. That the gold coins of the United States 
shall be a one-dollar piece, which, at the standard weight 
of twenty-five and eight-tenths grains, shall be the unit of 
value. [Then follow directions as to other gold coins.] 



122 HAND BOOK FOR 

"Sec. 15. That ihe silver coins of the United 
States shall be a trade dollar, a half dollar, or fifty- 
cent piece, a quarter dollar, or twenty-five cent piece, a 
dime, or ten-cent piece; and the weight of the trade 
dollar shall be 420 grains troy ; the weight of the half 
dollar shall be twelve grams and one-half of a gram; 
the quarter dollar and the dime shall be respeciively 
one-half and one-fifth of the weight of said half dollar, 
and said coins shall be a legal tender at their nominal 
value for any amount not exceeding ^5 in any one 
payment. 

"Sec. 17. That no coins, either of gold, silver or 
minor coinage, shall hereafter be issued from the mint 
other than those of the denominations, standards and 
weights herein set forth." 

It is but fair to state that this act was not passed 
in any stealthy manner, the subject having been 
under public discussion in and out of Congress for 
almost three years previously. It is not surprising 
that the demonetization of silver should have 
encountered so little opposition when it is remem- 
bered that the silver dollar was then an obsolete 
coin. The law had permitted the free coinage of 
silver since April 2, 1792, yet the total amount 
coined prior to 1873 was only $8,045,838, while the 
amount of gold coined during the same period was 
$781,656,541. The silver dollar was not an actual 
standard of value for about thirty-five years pre- 
vious to 1873, there having been practically no 
silver in circulation during that period. The 
demonetization of silver was undoubtedly prompted 
by apprehension that the rapidly increasing output 
of that metal would lead to disturbance of values 
and depreciation of the currency, should the silver 
remain even nominally a standard coin. In that 
very year of 1873 ^ "^w body of paying ore was 
discovered in one of the mines of the Comstock 
lode in Nevada, and the value of silver began rap- 
idly to decline. The following table shows the 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 123 

decline down to the period of the repeal of the 
Sherman Act in 1893 : 

Silver and Gold Values. 

Calen- Value of fine Gain or Bullion values ^-^^1^1 

dar ounce at aver- loss ofaU. S. rat'o 

years. age quotations. percent. silver dollar. ' ' 

1873 .... $1.30 0.45 gain ^1.004 15.9 

1874 1.28 i.oo loss .989 15.2 

1875 ^-^5 3-00 loss .96 16.6 

1876 1. 16 10.00 loss .90 17.9 

1877 ..... 1.20 7.00 loss .929 17.2 

1878 1. 15 10.00 loss .89 17.9 

1879 1. 12 13.00 loss .869 18.4 

1880 1. 14 1 1.00 loss .886 18.0 

1881 1. 14 12.00 loss .88 18.1 

1882 1. 13 12.00 loss . .878 18.2 

1883 I.I I 14.00 loss .868 186 

1884 I. II 14.00 loss .86 18.6 

1885 1.06 18.00 loss .82 19.4 

1886 0.99 23.00 loss .769 20.8 

1887 0.98 24.00 loss .757 21. 1 

1888 0.94 27.00 loss .727 22.0. 

1889 to.93 28.00 loss .72 22.0 

1890 1.05 19.00 loss .809 19.7 

189I 0.99 23.00 loss .76 20.9 

1892 0.87 33.00 loss .67 23.7 

1893 8 months 0.81 37-oo loss .625 25.5 



The Bland-AlIvISon Act. 

The movement for the restoration of silver as a 
money metal began in this country in 1878 with 
the passage of the Bland Allison act. In 1878, the 
Bland bill for the free coinage of silver dollars 
passed the House. An amendment, subsequently 
concurred in by the House, was secured by Mr. 
Allison in the Senate ; and the measure finally 
became a law OTcr the veto of President Hayes. 



124 HAND BOOK FOR 

The coinage of the silver dollar, with full legal- 
tender power, was restored — not for individuals, as 
prior to 1873, but on government account — the law 
requiring the purchase and coinage monthly, by 
the Government, of not less than $2,000,000 nor 
more than $4,000,000 w^orth of silver bullion. 
Although only the minimum amount was pur- 
chased and coined, the purchases of silver under 
this act aggregated 291,292,019 ounces, costing 
$308,199,262, from which there were coined and 
issued, either in actual dollars or paper certificates, 
$378,166,795. 

When this bill was passed, continental Europe 
had already gone far toward the adoption of the 
gold standard. In 1870 Great Britain was the only 
gold standard country in the world by law. The 
United States was practically a gold standard coun- 
try, for the silver dollar, being undervalued, did 
not circulate. In 1871 Germany decided on the 
gold standard, and practically threw her old silver 
coins on the market in the form of bullion. Hol- 
land followed in 1873, the Latin Union in 1876, and 
Spain in 1878. The immediate reason for this 
movement was the depreciation of silver, and this 
depreciation continued. Notwithstanding the 
enormous purchases under the Bland- Allison act, 
the price of the metal fell from $[.2o>^ an ounce on 
February 28, 1878, to $0.92 an ounce on May 29, 
1SS9. 



The Sherman Act. 

In June, 1890, the senate, by a vote of 42 to 25, 
had passed a bill for the free coinage of silver into 
legal dollars at the ratio of 16 to i. There being a 
prospect that the bill would pass the House, the 
silver law of July 14, 1890 (the so-called "Sherman" 
law), was framed. It finally passed the House by 
122 to 90, the yeas being ]2i Republicans and i 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 125 

"Wheeler," and the nays all Democrats. In the 
Senate the vote stood 39 to 26, a strict party divi- 
sion, the yeas being all Republicans, and three un- 
paired Democrats not voting. The treasury was 
required to purchase 4,500,000 ounces of silver 
monthly, and the act required the coinage into 
dollars monthly, until July i, 1891, of 2,000,000 
ounces of the silver bought. A declaration was, 
however, inserted by Senator Sherman, to the 
effect that it is the "established policy of the United 
States to maintain the two metals on a parity with 
each other upon the present legal ratio, or such 
ratio as may be provided by law." Up to July r, 
1893, the Treasury had purchased, under the opera- 
tion of this law, about 157,000,000 ounces of silver. 
There had been a steady outflow of gold from the 
United States for several years. The stock of free 
gold in the Treasury fell from $218,818,255 in May, 
1888, to ^93,582,172 on September 30, 1893. 



Repeai. of Silver Purchase. 

It was for the special purpose of securing a repeal 
of the silver law of 1890 that President Cleveland 
convoked the 53d Congress in extraordinary session 
August 7, 1893. His message, summarizing the 
main arguments against continued purchases of 
silver, was not of the character to overcome oppo- 
sition ; and the debate was prolonged in the House 
until August 26. The silver men, however, fought 
a losing battle ; and on August 28, the Wilson 
bill (so called from Hon. W. h. Wilson, Demo- 
cratic, of West Virginia, who introduced it August 
II), was passed by the altogether unexpected 
majority of 130. It repealed the purchase clause 
of the Sherman Act, but left unimpaired the 
legal-tender quality of the standard silver dollars 
heretofore coined up to that time, and pledged the 
faith and credit of the United States to maintain 



126 HAND BOOK FOR 

the parity of all its coins. During the contest the 
silver men, under the leadership of Mr. Bland, of 
Missouri, made desperate efforts to secure the pas- 
sage of a free coinage law. Several ratios, ranging 
from 16 to I to 20 to I, were proposed; but were 
successively rejected by decisive majorities. A 
similar fate met a proposal to revive the Bland- 
Allison Act of 1878. The bill went to the Senate, 
and after a severe struggle passed that body and at 
length became a law, November i, 1893. 

One of the most important political results of the 
repeal of the so-called Sherman Act was the seces- 
sion from the Republican party of Senator John P. 
Jones, of Nevada. The latter addressed a letter on 
September 4, 1S94. to the chairman of the Repub- 
lican State central committee of Nevada, formally 
severing his connection with the Republican party, 
announcing his alliance with " the party that brings 
this overmastering issue (the silver question) to the 
front" (presumably the Popuhsts), and giving at 
length his reasons therefor. In the mam these 
reasons are. that the Republican party organization 
is unalterably opposed to the free coinage of silver 
at the American ratio of 16 to r, or at all, except 
with the consent of foreign governments and at a 
ratio to be dictated by them. 



Demands of Sii^ver Advocates. 

The claims of the advocates of free silver coinage 
seem to be clearly and simply set forth in the 
following demands of the National Bimetallic 
League : 

"I. All legislation demonetizing silver and re- 
stricting the coinage thereof must be immediately 
and completely repealed by an act restoring the 
coinage of the country to the conditions established 
by the founders of the nation. We protest against 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 127 

the financial policy of the United States being 
made dependent upon the opinion or policies of 
any foreign government. 

'' 2. We assert that the only remedy for our me- 
talh'c finrincial troubles is to open the mints of the 
nation to gold and silver on equal terms at the old 
ratio of 16 of silver to i of gold. Whenever silver 
bullion can be exchanged at the mints for legal- 
tender silver dollars worth 100 cents, that moment 
412)4 grains of standard silver will be worth 100 
cents; and, as commerce equalizes the prices of all 
commodities throughout the v;orld, whenever 412 >^ 
grains of standard silver are worth 100 cents in the 
United States, they will be worth that sum every- 
where else, and cannot be bought for less. While 
such a result would enhance the price of bullion, a 
similar rise would be immediately made in every 
kind of property, except gold and credits." 



128 HAND BOOK FOR 



Part VI. 
TRUSTS AND MONOPOLIES. 



MoNOPOivY Described. 

Monopoly is the possession by an individual or 
corporation of the exclusive privilege of supplying 
some public and general want. Every citizen of 
the United States lias the right to engage in any 
lawful business, subject to the conditions imposed ' 
by law ; but monopolies are nevertheless conferred 
both by Federal and State legislation. The patent 
and copyright laws grant monopolies to those who 
comply "with their requirements. A railway may 
be a monopoly, so far as part or all of its traffic is 
concerned, if there is no competing line. Street- 
railwav and gas and water-supply franchises are 
often. If not generally, monopolies, for the reason 
that competition is iinpossible under the terms of 
the grant. In the case of a street railway, for in- 
stance, there could not very well be two rival lines 
on one thoroughfare. 

Certain monopolies which have been engaging 
public attention for several years, are, however, 
monopolies only in a conventional sense. They 
are combinations of trade and capital for the pur- 
pose of controlling and profitably managing some 
particular branch of business, previously carried on 
by several and perhaps numerous competing con- 
cerns These combinations are generally known as 
"trusts," and various laws have been passed for 
their suppression. That they sometimes interfere 
in legislation and exert great power in politics was 
shown, in 1894, iu the minority (Republican) 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 129 

report from the Senate Committee on the Sugar 
Trust scandal, as follows : 

PoLiTicAi, Power of Trusts. 

** All the witnesses stated that in all these con- 
ferences and discussions nothing was presented ex- 
cept the ordinary arguments ofF^-red by an industry 
in regard to its interests in a tariff bill ; but the un- 
dersigned feel that the American Sugar Refining 
company occupies a very different position, not 
only in the public estimation, but as a matter of 
fact, from that of any other industry in the coun- 
try. It is a very rich corporation with an enormous 
interest in tariff legislation. It is a matter of com- 
plete indifference to the trust, what duties are levied 
upon sugar, so long as the form is ad valorem, and 
a sufficient differential is given in favor of refined 
sugars. The sugar trust, by the evidence of its 
president and treasurer, has contributed freely to 
the State and city campaign funds of both parties, 
and those contributions have been made in years 
when national elections were held. This is a 
thoroughly corrupt form of campaign contribu- 
tions ; for such contributions, being given to two 
opposing parties, are not for the purpose of pro- 
moting certain political principles, but lo establish 
an obligation to the giver on the part of whichever 
party comes into power. The trust does not give 
to political parties for the promotion of political 
principles in whicb it believes, but for the protec- 
tion of its own ititerests, as appears by the same 
tesiimony. The fact that it gives to both political 
parlies is sufficient proof of the purposes of its con- 
tributions and of their dangerous nature. 

" For these reasons the undersigned have felt it 
important to lay before the senate and the country 
the fact that the sugar schedule as it now stands is 
according to the testimony in the form desired Oy 
the sugar trust, and to point out also the methods 



I30 HAND BOOK FOR 

by which the suj^ar trust reached what it desired 

and obtained, a substantial victory." 

The United States Anti-Trust Law, passed in 
1890, is as follows : 

AN ACT 

TO Protect Trade and Commerce Against Unlaw- 
ful Restraints and Monopolies, 

Be it enacted hv the Seriate and House of Representa- 
tives of the United States of America in Congress as- 
sembled. 

Seciion I. Every ccntract, combination in the form of 
trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or 
commerce among the several States, or with foreign 
nations, is hereby declared to be illegal. Every person 
who shall make any such contract, or engage in 
any combination or conspiracy, shall be deemed 
guiliy of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, 
shall be punished by fine not exceeding five thou- 
sand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding one 
year, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the 
court. 

Sec. 2. Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt 
to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other per- 
son or jiersons, to monopolize any part of the trade or 
commerce among the several States, or with foreign na- 
tions, shall l>e deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on 
conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding 
five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding 
one year, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of 
the court. 

Sec, 3. Every contract, combination in form of trust 
Of otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or com- 
merce in any Territory of the United States or of the 
District of Columbia, or in restraint of trade or commerce 
between any such Territory and another, or between any 
such Territory or Territories and any Stale or States or 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 131 

the District of Columbia, or with foreign nations, or be- 
tween the District of Columbia and any State or States or 
foreign nations, is hereby declared illegal. Every person 
who shall make any such contract or engage in any such 
combination or conspiracy, shall be deemed guilty of a 
misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be pun- 
ished by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or by 
imprisonment not exceedmg one year, or by both said 
punishments, in the discretion of the court. 

Sec. 4. The several circuit courts of the L^nited States 
are hereby invested with jurisdiction to prevent and re- 
strain violations of this act; and it shall be the duty of 
the several district attorneys of the United States, in their 
respective uisiricts, under the direction of the Aitorney- 
Generai, to institute proceedings in equity to prevent and 
restrain such violations. Such proceedings may be by 
way of petition setting forth the case and praying that 
such violation shall be enjoined or otherwise prohibited. 
When the parties complained of shall have been duly 
notified of such petition the court shall proceed, as soon 
as may be, to the hearing and determination of the case; 
and pending such petition and before final decree, the 
court may at any time make such temporary restraining 
order or prohibition as shall be deemed just in the pre- 
mises. 

Skc. 5. Whenever it shall appear to the court before 
which any proceeding under section four of this act may 
be pending, that the ends of justice require that other 
parties should be brought before the court, the court may 
cau-^e them to be summoned, whether they reside in the 
district in which the court is held or not ; and subpoenas 
to that end may be served in any district by the marshal 
thereof. 

Skc. 6. Any property owned under any contract or by 
any combination, or pursuant to any conspiracy (and 
being the subject thereoi ) mentioned in section one of 
this act, and being in the course of transportation from 
one Slate to another, or to a foreign country, shall be for- 
feited to the United States, and may be seized and con- 
demned by like proceedings as those provided by law fear 



X32 HAND BOOK FOR 

the forfeiture, seizure, and condemnation of property im- 
ported into the United States contrary to law. . 

Sec 7 Any person who shall be injured in his business 
or property by any other person or corporation by reason 
of anything forbidden or declared to be unlawful by thi. 
act, may sue therefor m any circuit court of the United 
States in the district in which the defendant resides or is 
found without respect to the amount in controversy, and 
shall recover three-fold the damages by hirn sustamed, 
and the costs of smt, including a reasonable attorney s 

^^^Sec 8. That the word "person," or "persons," wher- 
ever used in this act shall be deemed to include corpora- 
tions and associations existing under or authorized by the 
laws of either the United States, the aws of any of the 
Territories, the laws of any State, or the laws of any for- 
eign country. 

Approved July 2, i8go. 



STATE Laws Against Trusts. 

Mr Dodd, in the Harvard "Law Review," sum- 
marizes anti-trust legislation in the different States 
as follows-the word -persons" being used for 
''persons, corporations, associations, and partner- 
ships," and the word " agreement," or ' attempt, 
for "contract, combination, conspiracy, under- 
standing, arrangement, or act : " . 

In sixteen States, it is a criminal conspiracy for 
two or more persons to agree to regulate or fix the 
price of anv article, or to fix or limit the (luantity 
of any article to be manufactured, mined, pro- 
duced or sold. Regulating and fixing prices neces- 
sarily include increasing and reducing prices, but 
in most of the statutes these are also specified as 
criminal. ^ , ^^_ 

In six States, it is a crime for two or "jore per- 
sons to enter into any agreement whereby lull 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. I33 

and free competition in production and sale" is 
prevented. . . • r 

In two States and one territory, it is a crime tor 
two or more persons to "attempt to monopolize '» 
any article. 

In Nebraska, two or more persons are guilty of 
conspiracy if they agree to suspend or cease the 
sale of any manufactured products, or if they agree 
that the profits of anv manufacture or sale shall 
be made a common fund, to be divided among 

them. . , . , .1 • f 

In Texas and Mississippi, besides the crimes of 
fixing, regulating, increasing, and reducing prices, 
it is also a crime for persons to settle the price of 
any article between themselves, or between them- 
selves and others. 

In New York, it is a crime to enter into any con- 
tract whereby competition in the supply or price 
of articles in common use for support of life and 
health may be restrained or prevented for the pur- 
pose of advancing prices. 



1J4 HAND BOOK FOR 

Part VII. 
LABOR IN THK UNITED STATES, 

Labor's Marvelous Progress. 

Before speaking of the present condition of 
labor in the United States it may not be amiss to 
recall something of labor's progress in the past 
under American institutions. It is unfortunate 
that stereotyped history should have so little to say 
about labor, as compared with political events. 
We hear much of kings and queens and generals, 
of sieges and battles and tnumphs, but very little 
of the great unnumbered multitude of toilers who 
were, and are, the very foundation and, we should 
add, the pillar of all this pomp and circumstance. 
If the question should be asked, " What has been 
the most prominent feature of the past hundred 
years?" how few would answer, " The emancipa- 
tion of labor. " Yet the answer would be eminently 
true. No invention, however useful ; no military 
achievement, however signal, has been of such 
measureless advantage to humanity as the change 
in the conditions of labor since the middle of the 
eighteenth century. 

It is not from reading ordinary histories that this 
change is discernible. To comprehend it you nmst 
delve into the musty old records of the past ; the 
reports of council and court proceedings, the pages 
of ancient newspapers, and especially the adver- 
tising columns. In all of them you will find crop- 
ping out the fact that the ordinary workingman, at 
a period not far distant, was hardly different from a 
serf, while the lot of the workingwoman was even 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 135 

more desperate. The ai3prenticesliip of the last 
century was only a modified form of slavery, and 
the female domestic was a bondwoman with but 
slight prospects of ever being free. White men 
and women were bound for a term of years to 
their masters or mistresses, and the term was read- 
ily extended by the magistrates upon any trivial 
pretence of misconduct on the part of the servant. 
The pay, too, was so inadequate that only one re- 
source remained, as a rule, when the term of 
service was completed, and that was to renew the 
obligation and resume the yoke of bondage. At 
the time of the outbreak of the Revolution the 
lines of class in this respect were distinctly drawn, 
and almost as severe, from a social point of view, 
as that between whites and blacks in the South 
to-day. 



Effect of Independence on IvAbor. 

The Declaration of Independence was, of course, 
not intended to liberate the bondman, white or 
black, except so far as related to political separation 
from England ; but perforce of circumstances it 
did have that effect both as regarded the general 
body of white laborers and- some of the blacks. 
Perhaps this was one reason why the rich through- 
out the colonies were frequently on the Tory side. 
In 1775, before independence was declared, but 
when war had begun, General Washington, speak- 
ing of the Massachusetts levies, says : "From the 
number of boys, deserters and ncfrroes which have 
been enlisted in the troops of this province I en- 
tertain some doubts whether the number required 
can be raised here, and all the general officers agree 
that no dependence can be put on the militia for a 
continuance in camp, or regularity and discipline 
during the short time they may stay. This un- 
happy and devoted province has been so long ia a 



136 HAND BOOK FOR 

state of anarchy and the yoke of ministerial op- 
pression been laid so heavily on it that great allow- 
ances are to be made for troops raised nnder such 
circumstances." The "deserters" spoken of by 
General Washington were doubtless men who had 
deserted the service of their masters to join the 
Continental forces, and who preferred fighting for 
the liberty of their country to personal slavery. 
The American army in the Revolution was largely 
composed of such men, and in the stress for re- 
cruits the authorities made no searching inquiries 
as to whether the volunteer was or was not some- 
body's indentured servant. Consequently the War 
of Independence effected a social as well as politi- 
cal revolution. It effected a thorough kneading, 
as it were, of the various elements of the popula- 
tion, and when it closed the workingman was vir- 
tually free to labor where he pleased, while the 
rich and poor were much closer together than they 
had been before. 



The Workingman's Politicai. Enfran- 
chisement. 

The conspiracy laws, however, remained. It was 
still a crime, as in the da} s of Queen Elizabeth, for 
workingmen to combine with a view of bringing 
employers to terms, and many harsh prosecutions 
were instituted and maintained on this ground. 
Property qualifications excluded the workingman 
from the suffrage in many of the States, and 
although at liberty to work where he pleased, and 
no longer a bondman held by indenture, he was 
still debarred from a share in the government 
supported by his toil, and denied the right to 
combine for the improvement of his condition. As 
long as the laborer remained apolitical nonentity 
it was useless for him to hope for a repeal of the 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 137 

laws which, if they did not prevent labor organiza- 
tion, made that organization ineffectual. The prop- 
erty qualification laws were gradually repealed ira 
the Northern States where they had existed, except 
one — Rhode Island — where a property qualification 
for foreign born voters continued in force until 
five or six years ago. The workingman, now 
recognized as a political equal, soon_ made his 
influence felt, and the rivalry of political parties 
for his favor led to the gradual effacement of all 
the statutes which interfered with his right to 
organize for an increase of wages and the general 
improvement of his condition. I^abor organizations 
were formed in all parts of the country, ^ and 
especially in the centres of industry, and strikes, 
sometimes prudent and at other times imprudent, 
sometimes successful and often unsuccessful, gave 
notice that labor meant to assert its claim to fair 
and reasonable wages. 



Labor Organization and Improveit 
Conditions. 

Organization has undoubtedly had an effect lo 
maintaining wages at a figure sufficient for a com- 
fortable living. It is only necessary to glance at 
unorganized trades to perceive this. The workiiK^- 
man who is unprotected by organization is entire^ 
at the mercy of his employer, who may or may not 
be a just man, and who may be disposed to get his 
work done as cheaply as possible without regard to 
the effect on the laborer. The employer, indeed^ 
is justified in having work done as cheaply as he- 
can, and it is the business of the workingman to 
get all that he can for his work ; and this he cam 
only do by some form of organization which will 
enable employes to act in harmony for their com- 
mon advantage. The laws which have been passed; 



138 HAND BOOK FOR 

in nearly every manufacturing State reducing the 
hours of labor, regulating the employment of 
children in factories, and providing for factory 
inspection by officials acting understate authoritry 
are all chiefly due to organized effort en tbe j art 
of the workiugmen. There is no doubt that labor 
organizations are sometimes blindly led, with dis- 
astrous results for themselves and for tl e public, 
but labor organization has been and is, on the whole 
fruitful of benefit not for the workiugman orly 
— using that term in its narrow sense — but for the 
community. The welfare of society is promoted 
by every improvement in the workingman's condi- 
tion — by weekly payments, by shortened hours, 
which give him opportunity for recreation and in- 
struction, and by compellingheartlessrndunscrnpu- 
lous employers to have regard for the interests of 
those whose labor fertilizes capital. So far from be- 
ing gloomy or unpromising, the condition cf labor 
in this country is most promising, and every reason- 
able advantage which labor has yet to attain can be 
achieved ballot in hand, by the exercise of a free- 
man's duty. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 13^ 



Part VIII. 
REWGION IN THE UNIIED STATES, 

Church and State. 

It hag already beea stated that religion was an 
essential element in the oriorin of our naliou— far 
more important tlian the element^^ of trade and 
adventure. From the very beg nuiug, the Chuich 
was closely allied with the State in several of the 
leading colonies, and this connection continued in 
a more or less modified form until far in ti^e 
present century. The writer met i.i his earlier 
years veteran Baptists and Methodisis, who, when 
themselves young, h id been imprisoned in Massa- 
causetts for refusing to contribute tothetupport 
of the Congregational ministry. Both in the Massa- 
chusetts and the New Haven colonies freemen 
were required to be church members This was 
first ordered in the former colony as early as 1631 
**To the end that the body of the freemen may be 
preserved of honest and good men, it is c rdered," 
ran the statute, "that henceforth no mnu shall be 
admitted to the f.eedom of the Commonwealth, 
but such as are memb-rs of some of the churches 
within the hmits of its jurisdiction." In i66o it 
was further enacted by the General Court of 
Massacnusetts— as the legislature of that Common- 
wealth was then, and still is, designated— that 
no man whosoever shall be admitted to the free- 
dom of this body politick but such as are members 
of some Church of Christ and in full communion." 
As members of the church were admitted only by 
the consent of those ahready in membership, it is 



I40 HAND BOOK FOR 

apparent that the government was virtually eccle- 
siastical. The English government sought to have 
privilege of voting in Massachusetts extended to 
all Protestants " orthodox in religion, though of 
different persuasions concerning church govern- 
ment." The Puritans discreetly professed to com- 
ply with, this request by providing that a freeman 
must have a certificate signed by the minister of 
the place where he resided to the effect that he was 
*• orthodox in religion and not vicious in his life." 
Practically, the ministers being all of the Congre- 
gational faith, matters remained as before. New 
Haven also required that all freemen should be 
church members. Quakers were debarred from 
voting in all the New England colonies except 
Rhode Island. Locke's Constitution for Carolina 
provided no man should be a freeman "who doth 
not acknowledge a God, and that God is publicly 
and solemnly to be worshiped. " Roman Catho- 
lics were generally disfranchised, even in Mary- 
land after that province had passed from the 
control of Lord Baltimore's family. The weight 
of evidence is against the charge that Rhode Island 
disfranchised Roman Catholics, although a clause 
to that effect appeared in several editions of the 
Rhode Island laws, inserted there probably with a 
view of propitiating the anti-papal sentiment in 
England. Jews could not legally vote in New 
York or South Carolina. 



Church Support in Massachuse'TTS. 

After independence had been declared, the con- 
vention which framed a constitution for Massachu- 
setts, provided in the Declaration of Rights that 
•'the legislature shall from time to time authorize 
and require the several towns, parishes, precincts 
and other bodies politic, or religious societies, to 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 141 

make suitable provision at their own expense for 
the institution of the public worship of God, and 
for the support and maintenance of public Protest- 
ant teachers of piety, religion and morality, in 
all cases where such provision shall not be made 
voluntarily. All the people of the Common- 
wealth have also a right to, and do invest their 
legislature with authority to enjoin upon all 
the subjects an attendance upon the instructions 
of the public teachers as aforesaid, at stated times 
and seasons, if there be anyone whose instructions 
they can conscientiously all conveniently attend: — 

*'* Provided, notwithstanding, that the several 
towns, parishes, precincts, and other bodies politic, 
or religious societies, shall at all times have the 
exclusive right of electing their public teachers, 
and of contracting with them for their support and 
maintenance. All moneys paid by the subject to 
the support of public worship, and of the public 
teachers aforesaid, shall, if he require it, be uni- 
formly applied to the support of the public teacher 
or teachers of his own religious sect or denomina- 
tion, provided there beany, upon whose instruction 
he attends ; otherwise it may be paid toward the 
support of the teacher or teachers of the parish or 
precinct in which said moneys are raised. 

"And every denomination of Christians, demean- 
ing themselves peaceably, and as good subjects, 
shall be equally under the protection of the law ; 
and no subordination af any sect or denomination 
to another shall ever be established by law. " 

Notwithstanding the last-quoted paragraph, the 
Congregational churches were in effect made State 
establishments by this constitution, the ministers* 
dues being collected by public officers known as 
"Tithingmen." The vState Church system con- 
tinued in full operation until 1815, when so-called 
dissenters were released from paying taxes for the 
maintenance of the Congregational ministry, and 
in 1833 the involuntary support of public worship 



142 HAND BOOK FOR 

was ftbolished altogether, after a most vigorous 
controversy between those who opposed and those 
who advocated the voluntary system. 



Church and State in Connecticut. 

In Connecticut it was provided by the constitu- 
tion of 1818 that "every society or denomination of 
Christians " sliould have power and authority to tax 
the members thereof for the payment of the min- 
istry, and the building and repairing of places of 
worship, but a member of any religious society 
might escape this responsibility by separating him- 
self therefrom through a formal notice given in 
writiiig. This practically put an end to the obliga- 
tory maintenance of the churches in that State, and 
the Congr< gational pulpits had to depend, like 
otheis, upon the free contributions of the people. 



The Mormon Hierarchy. 

The only State Church system which has existed 
within the latter half of the nineteenth century in 
any part of the United States has been that of the 
Mormon Churc'i in Utah. Thi^ organization for 
years held absolute power over the lives and prop- 
erty of the people of Utah, violating the United 
States laws by polygamous marriage, and attempt- 
ing to override the authority of United States offi- 
cers. It was not until about twenty years ago that 
the legislative; branch of the government began to 
take vigorous action against the Mormon hierarchy 
and system, and the struggle lasted until the public 
surrender, in September, 1890, of the church 
authorities, President Woodruff, head of the 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 143 

Church, then anuouncitig by a proclamation and 
iu conference that the Mormons accepted the 
United States law prohibiting polygamy. The 
conflict had been attended by an extraordinary- 
exertion of the powers of this government. The 
disfranchisement of polygamists, under the-^ 
Edmunds bill of 1882, was undoubtedly the 
blow that stunned the hierarchy, and paralyzed . 
opposition. A singular feature of Mormonisni was 
that women were invited by admission to the suf- 
frage to share in maintaining their own degrada- 
tion ; but the Edmunds bill struck at females as 
well as males, who shared in the polygamous 
relation. The admission of Utah as a State is 
expected by many who have studied the conditions 
there to revive the despotism of the hierarchy, 
altiiough polygamy is probabl}'^ dead beyond resur- 
rection. The law of Congress providing for admis~ 
sion made it a condition "that perfect toleration 
of religious sentiment shall be secured, and no- 
inhabitant of said State shall ever be molested in 
person or property on account of his or her mode 
of religious worship. Provided, That polygamous 
or plural marriages are forever prohibited." It is 
already reported that the Mormon Church author- 
ities are assuming a dictatorial attitude, as if they 
meant to take the reins of the new State in their 
grasp. 



Religious Statistics. 

The first successful effort to compile religious 
statistics for a Federal census was in 1890. Mr. 
H. K. Carroll, LL. D., was appointed by Robert 
P. Porter, Superintendent of the Eleventh Census, 
to take the census of the churches, and his work 
was the first efifectual effort of the government in 
this direction. In 1850, i860 and 1870 religious- 



144 HAND BOOK FOR 

statistics were gathered by United States marshals 
or their agents. In the census of 1850 and i860 
three items only were given, namely, chiirches, 
church accommodations and value of church prop- 
erty. In 1870 a distinction was made between 
churches or church societies and church edifices, 
thus making an additional item. In 1880 large 
preparations were made for a census which should 
not only be thorough, but exhaustive in the num- 
ber of its inquiries. A vast mass of detailed 
information was obtained, but the appropriations 
were exhausted before it -was tabulated, and the 
results were wholly lost. Mr. Carroll determined 
to make the scope of the inquiry broad enough to 
■embrace the necessary i^ems of information, and 
narrow enough to insure success in collecting, tab- 
ulating and publishing them ; and to devise a 
method of collecting the statistics which would 
serve the ends of accuracy, completeness and 
promptness. It was in some sense to be a pioneer 
effort, and the plan and methods adopted were 
designed to bring success within the range of pos- 
sibility. The method of gathering the statistics was 
to make the presbytery, the classis, the association, 
the synod, the diocese, the conference, etc., the 
unit in the division of the work, and to ask the 
clerk or moderator, or statistical secretary cf each 
to obtain the desired information from the churches 
belonging to the presbytery, association or diocese, 
as the case might be. This officer received full 
instructions how to proceed, and sufficient supplies 
of circulars, schedules, etc., to comumnicate with 
each church. This method proved to be quite 
practicable and very satisfactory, although, in all 
probability, the figures given were in some instances 
exaggerated. The most flagrant instance of exag- 
geration was in connection with a Chinese temple 
in New York city, which claimed 7000 worshipers, 
whereas the whole State of New York has a Chinese 
population of less than 3000. The riddle was no 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 145 

doubt correctly solved by the assumption that 7000 
was the number worshiping in the same temple in 
the course of a j^ear, the same individuals being 
counted many times. 



Thk Various Denominations. 

Mr. Carroll afterward published a summary of 
his work, in which it was perhaps hardly necessary 
to say that the Church has no claim on the State, 
and the State no claim on any church. That has 
happily been the case ever since the final severance 
of the Congregational faith from State support in 
New England. It is of interest to observe that 
many of the 143 religious denominations differ only 
in name. Without a single change in doctrine or 
polity, the seventeen Methodist bodies could be 
reduced to three or four ; the twelve Presbyterian 
to three ; the twelve Mennonite to two, and so on. 
Of the distinction between evangelical and non- 
evangelical churches Mr. Carroll says that "the 
evangelical churches are those which hold to the 
inspiration, authority and sufficiency of the Scrip>- 
tures, the Trinity, the deity of Christ, justification 
by faith alone, and the work of the Holy Ghost in 
the conversion and sanctification of the sinner. 
The non-evangelical churches are those which take 
a rationalistic view of the deity of Christ and the 
doctrines of grace, of which the Unitarians may be 
taken as an example. There are some denomina- 
tions which have the word evangelical in their title, 
and yet are thoroughly rationalistic, and therefore 
non-evangelical. Practically we may distinguish 
as evangelical all those bodies which are members 
of the general organization known as the Evangeli- 
cal Alliance, or in harmony with its articles of 
faith ; and as non-evangelical all other Protestant 
bodies." The vast majority of Protestants are in 



146 HAND BOOK FOR 

the evangelical denominations, the number of com- 
municants being 13 869,483, as against 132,992 non- 
evangelical communicants. It should be men- 
tioned, however, that Mr. Carroll counts the 
Universalists as evangelical. They number 49, 194 
communicants. The most numerous Protestant 
denomination are the Methodist, with 4,589,284 
communicants ; the Baptists coming next, with 
3.717.969; the Presbyterians following, with 1,278,- 
332, and the lyutherans with 1,231,072. It may be 
news to many that the denomination known as 
"The Disciples of Christ" outnumber the two 
great creeds which were once rivals for religious 
control in the British portion of America, the Dis- 
ciples of Christ numbering 641,051, the Protestant 
Episcopalians 540,509, and the Congregationalists 
512,771. The number of Roman Catholics is given 
as 6,257,871. As the Roman Catholic Church 
always gives in its published annual statistics the 
number of baptized members, or population, instead 
of communicants, the census appointee in each 
diocese was requested to comply with the require- 
ments of the census schedules and furnish the 
number of communicants, in order that the statis- 
tics of all the denominations might be uniform. 
This was done in every case. According to informa- 
tion received from bishops, it is the custom of the 
Roman Catholic Church for baptized persons to 
make their first communion between the ages of 9 
and 1 1 years. Baptized persons below the age of 9 
years are not included, therefore, in the census 
returns. Nevertheless I do not think that even 
this restriction gives a fair opportunity for com- 
paring the number of those adhering to the Prot- 
estant denominations with the numbers adhering to 
the Roman Catholic faith. It would probably be 
safe to double the number of Protestants, and to 
add about 15 per cent., as suggested, Mr. Carroll 
Bays, by some ecclesiastical authorities, to the 
number of Roman Catholics. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 147 

Non-Orthodox Bodies. 

So-called non-orthodox bodies are not numerous 
as compared with the vast multitudes of Protestants 
and Roman Catholics. When the prominence of 
the Jews in trade and commerce, and in the daily 
life of our great cities is considered, it is surprising 
to learn that they are out-numbered by the Latter 
Day Saints, or Mormons, the Mormon Church hav- 
ing 166,125 communicants, and the Jewish 130,496. 
The Theosophists, of whom we have heard so much, 
number only 695. The proportion of Chinese idol- 
aters is not given, owing to the manifest inaccuracy 
of the figures returned, and Mr. Carroll apparently 
did not meddle with the fascinating and antique 
mysticism of the Zuuis. The Salvation Army, 
which has done and is doing such admirable work 
both in England and America, is represented in 
nearly every part of the Union, however remote, 
and it is to be noted with regret that local authori- 
ties in some parts of the country still show intoler- 
ance toward the Army's efforts. Besides the better 
known denominations there are the Dunkards, the 
Bible Brethren and other sects, of whom but little 
is heard by the world at large. 



Success of the Voi^untary System. 

Judging from the experience of the United States 
the voluntary syscem has achieved a success never 
paralleled by the State -supported hierarchies of the 
Old World, and religion still has a hold upon the 
heart and conscience of man as potent as in the days 
of Paul and Augustine, of Luther and of Savonarola. 



148 HAND BOOK FOR 

Part IX. 

CITIZENSHIP AND SUFFRAGE. 

Thic Citizen's Obi^igations and Rights. 

A citizen is a member of the State. ' Citizenship 
carries with it certain obligations which cannot be 
avoided, and certain rights which cannot be denied. 
The obligations are allegiance to the State and 
obedience to its laws ; the rights are to the State's 
protection at home and abroad while engaged in 
lawful undertakings, and to the privileges and im- 
munities guaranteed by the fundamental law. 
These obligations and rights are absolute and in- 
herent in citizenship. The citizen can be discharged 
from his obligations only by a change of allegiance 
in accordance with treaties entered into by the 
United States with other powers, and permitting 
such change ; the State can never divest itself of 
the duty to protect its citizens. Citizenship does 
not carry with it any political power. The citizen 
may be a helpless infant, a disfranchised woman, or 
a full-fledged elector. All these are equally citizens, 
and their rights are identical, although only one 
of them has a share in the government of the Re- 
public. 

The difference between an American elector and 
the subject of a European power, like England, 
the German empire, or Italy, is that the voting 
citizen here has a part in all the government ; 
there his vote deals only with a section of the 
government. In England the ballot cannot reach 
the throne ; in Germany its limit is the Reichstag ; 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 149 

in the United States the head of the State is the 
creature of the ballot-box. When Benjamin Dis- 
raeli, in the British Parliament spoke of Abraham 
Lincoln as the sovereign of the United States he 
was correctly reminded that the American people 
were the sovereigns of the United States. The 
American voter is a sovereign in the fullest sense. 
He appoints his rulers, and he has the power to 
change, through the medium of constitutional 
forms, the laws which guide and control their con- 
duct. Through the same agency he extends or 
restricts the franchise. He may be as poor as Job 
robbed of his possessions, but in the ballot he 
wields a sceptre more powerful than that of Charle- 
magne, over an empire more extensive than that of 
Augustus. He has far better reason to be proud 
than the Roman citizen, who so highly prized the 
privilege of living under the aegis of the Caesars. 



Voting is a Privii.kge. 

Although the * ' right to vote " is a common ex- 
pression, the fact is exemplified throughout Amer- 
ican history that voting is a privilege and not a 
right. About one-half of the total number of 
adult citizens of the United States are debarred 
from the franchise on account of their sex, while 
large numbers are denied a share in the suffrage on 
the ground of ignorance, or for other reasons not 
prohibited by the Federal Constitution. On the 
other hand, in some of the States, aliens are per- 
mitted to vote, provided they have declared their 
intention to become citizens — an extraordinary 
condition of affairs, making it possible for a Presi- 
dent of the United States to be selected— of course 
through the agency of the Electoral college — by 
the votes of British, German or Russian subjects. 
The privilege of voting is, therefore, even in this 



I50 HAND BOOK FOR 

advanced age, not bestowed according to any uni- 
versal rule, and is obviously not recognized as one 
of the rights secured by the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. In the beginning of the Republic in- 
deed, and until a period within the lifetime of 
many now living, the principle was generally recog- 
nized iu legislation that the voter ought to have an 
individual interest in real estate — that he ought to 
be a taxpayer, and that in casting his ballot for 
public officers he should feel that he was choosing 
men who were to use his personal means for the 
public welfare. Even Pennsylvania confined the 
suffrage to white taxpayers, notwithstanding the 
witty query of Benjamin Franklin as to whether a 
man v/ho was permitted to vote because he owned 
an ass was any less qualified if he lost the animal. 

It is an interesting fact that, although tbe Eastern 
States — that term being used in its broadest mean- 
ing—are commonly looked upon as the fountain of 
intelligence and enlightenment, manhood suffrage 
founditsanchoriu the West, and from thence re- 
acted upon the East, just as woman suffrage is re- 
peating that history to day. The reason for this is 
obvious. Men were valued as men in the new vStates, 
and the arm that could hold a rifle or wield an axe 
was too important to be measured on a Procrustean 
bed of property qualification. Inducements, too, 
had to be held out for immigrants, and what better 
inducement to the disfranchised citizen struggling 
with poverty intheEnst than the prospect of pros- 
perity and enfranchisement in the West ? This influ- 
ence of equality, irrespective of property, gradually 
** backed water," if I may so express it, upon the 
older communities, until State after State removed 
property restrictions, so far as the white population 
was concerned. For the colored people, even in 
most of the Northern States, these restrictions con- 
tinued until during or after the war. 

The subject of colored suffrage brings up an in- 
cident of history worthy of being recalled. When, 



i 

AMERICAN CITIZENS. 151' 

in the early part of the century, the question of 
admitting colored men to the franchise was under 
discussion in the legislature at Albany, the prop- 
osition was objected to on the ground that the 
wealthy families of New York city would be able 
to exert an undue influence in city and btate affairs 
through the votes of their colored servants. To 
Americans of to-day the objection mentioned, and 
which was most seriously debated, may appear 
grotesq le, but to the people of that day it had no 
doubt just as grave and important an aspect as 
some of tiie problems which agitators of our own 
generation consider to be portentous of trouble for 
the Republic. The truth is that the issue of the 
colored coachmen which so excited our fathers 
was no more imaginary and illusory than some 
political spectres which loom up to-day against the 
twilight sky of the nineteenth ceatury. The nation 
has much greater vitality than many short-sighted 
people suppose, and will not be diverted from the 
highway of progress by difficulties real or unreal. 



QUAWFICATIONS FOR VOTING. 

It is not necessary here to more than mention 
the religious quahhcation for the franchise which 
existed in certain American colonies. That 
passed away with the colonial period, and the sub- 
ject is dealt with in th2 article on'' Religion." The 
ownership of property generally ceased to be a 
requisite for voting in the Northern States before 
the late CLvil war. In the older States of the South, 
exclusive of Georgia, the property qaalilicatioa 
was maintained, Georgia having been controlled 
in the direction of liberality by thesime influences 
which affected the newer States, both South and 
North. Her extensive territory needed develop- 
ment, and her people wisely provided that »• 



152 HAND BOOK FOR 

restrictions should be imposed upou white settlers 
as to their poUtical privileges. For similar reasons 
Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkan- 
sas, Texas, and Florida, extended full civic privi- 
leges to the white man. Tennessee ratlier queerly 
provided that colored men should not be required 
to perform military duty in time of peace. The 
Southern constitutions which denied civil rights to 
the negro seemed, however, to recognize that he 
was a citizen, although aslave in the very language 
of the denial. They also recognized that slavery 
was not a question of color, the statement that 
"every free white male citizen" could vote, 
clearly admitting both that w^hite men could be 
slaves and that slaves were citizens. It is an inter- 
esting fact that the original constitution of North 
Carolina did not exclude free negroes from the 
suffrage, and that this condition of affairs con- 
tinued until 1836, when an amendment was adopted 
providing that '*no free negro, free mulatto, or 
free person of mixed blood, descended from r.egro 
ancestors to the fourth generation inclusive (though 
one ancestor of each generation may have been a 
white person), shall vote for members of the Senate 
or House of Commons." There is no doubt that 
slavery in the South was not wholly dependent on 
color, and this recalls the fact that not long before 
the war articles appeared in Southern newspapers 
urging the enslavement of white mechanics and 
laborers. The civil war made American slavery 
historical, and led to the suffrage conditions which 
prevail to-day. 

Rhode Island alone, among all the States of the 
Union, maintained a property qualification for 
foreign born citizens until about six years ago, 
soldiers of alien birth who had fought gallantly in 
the war for the Union being denied the privilege 
of voting unless they owned real estate. It was 
this that led the writer to indite the following lines 
ou the Soldiers' Monument in Providence, which. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 153 

appeared about seven years ago in one of the lead- 
ing New York newspapers : 



*' Aloft above the busy square, 
Behold the list of heroes there, 
Whose life-blood crimsoned Southern sand 
From Roanoke to Rio Grande — 
And there, above, Columbia's form; 
In summer sun and wmter storm, 
With wreath in hand and pensive head 
She mourns and crowns lier warriors dead I 

" I read the names of many there, 
Famihar as New England air — 
Names that have rung the ages down 
From landing-year at Plymouth town; 
That rallied to the bugle call 
At Louisburg and Montreal, 
And swelled the Continental roll 
From Bunker Hill to Newburg's goal. 

** And these again — of stranger sound — 
This cannot be their native ground — 
No ; born upon a foreign strand. 
They heard of this God-favored land. 
And, scorning rule of king and peer. 
They sought the rights of manhood here; 
For us they died — what more could be 
Their proof o^ faith and loyalty. 

** And these Rhode Island's helots were ; 
Denied the freeman's right to share ; 
Denied the ballot's sacred trust. 
Because, forsooth, of native dust 
They owned no part; yet, side by side 
With native-born they fought and died; 
And from that monument proclaim 
Rhode Island's glory and her shame.'* 



154 HAND BOOK FOR 

Woman Suffrage. 

At the present time manhood sufFraj^^e, restricted 
in some of the States by the payment of a personal 
tax, audi:i other States by an educational quaUfi- 
cation, is the rule throughout the United States. 
Women are endowed with full votiu)^ privileges iu 
the States of Colorado, Wyoming-, Montana* and 
Utah. The advocates of woman suffrage organized 
a vigorous campaign in 1S94 to obtain from the 
New York Constitutional Convention an indorse- 
ment of their cause. They appreciated that suc- 
cess in the Empire State would probably have a 
decisive influence throughout the United States. 
Probably the most favorable symptom for woman 
suffrage was the antagonism which it evoked. For 
the first time in New York State the opposition was 
earnest, anxious and resolute. The woman suffrage 
cause, h )wever, although most ably presented, had 
no prospect of success in the Convention. On July 
18, 1894, the suffrage committee voted unanimously 
(17 to o) against all the main proposals to give 
suffrag3 to women ; among these were a motion to 
permit women to vote on all questions relating to 
schools, excise, or taxes ; a motion to authorize the 
Legislature to confer on women the right of suf- 
frage: a motion to permit women owning property 
to vote ; a motion authorizing women to vote on 
the question whether they shall become voters ; and 
a motion authorizing a similar vote by both men 
and women. Various other motions in committee 
were defeated by large majorities. On August 8 
the suffrage committee reported adversely all the 
amendmentsexceptthat relating to school suffrage. 
The conv<=ntion, however, proceeded to debate a 
motion providing for a double submission of the 
question — once to see if the amendment for woman 



♦In Montana women who pay taxes vote on the same term« 
i men. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 155 

suffrage should be submitted in 1895, and once to 
obtain a vote on the amendment itself. On August 
15 this motion was defeated by a vote of 97 to 58, 
and woman suffrage had no further consideration 
in the convention. The people of Massachusett3 
rejected w >man suffrage at the election held in 
November, 1895. 

Kansas has bestowed on women the right to vote 
in municipal elections, and twenty-three States 
have conferred school suffrage on women. 



SsciLET Voting — ^The Austrai^ian System. 

Secret voting has always been the practice in 
this country, and was the rule in the New England 
colonies, except when the voting was done in open 
town meeting by show of hamls. The custom of 
open voting in town meeting still prevails in New 
England towns when a ballot is not demanded. 
While under the old system the voting by ballot 
was professedly secret, it was in fact impossible or 
almost impossible lor the voter to conceal his 
choice. For instance, it was the custoni in some 
places for one party or faction to have ballots of a 
different color from those of the other partv- I 
have seen one party with coffee-colored, and the 
other using white ballots. The object was evident 
— to know whether the voter, bought with money 
or bound by intimidation, voted as he was expected 
to vote. Even where the law required white bal- 
lots of similar size and appearance it was easily 
evaded. Hence the introduction of the Australian 
ballot system, so called because devised and first 
used in Australia. This system, with modifications, 
has been adopted in New York, Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, Maine., New Jersey, Indiana, Rhode 
Island and other States. It insures ab'^olute 
secrecy for the voter. Each voter is provided with 



156 HAND BOOK FOR 

a ballot or set of ballots printed at the public ex- 
pense and handed to him by the election officers. 
The ballot or ballots contain the names of all the 
candidates for the office for which the vote is to be 
cast. The polls being open the voter enters and 
gives his name and address. An examination of 
the registry ascertains his right to vote. An elec- 
tion officer hands him the ballot or ballots, and he 
enters a booth, the door of which he closes after 
him, and there selects and folds his ballot, if there 
are several, or makes a mark against the candidates 
he prefers, if it is a single or blanket ballot, or 
writes in a name, if he prefers to vote for a per- 
son not in the official list of candidates. The bal- 
lot is so folded that there is no revelation of its 
contents until it is opened, after the close of the 
polls, for the purpose of counting. Each voter is 
allowed a certain time — not usually exceeding ten 
minutes — in a booth to prepare his ballot. If physi- 
cally disabled, or illiterate, he can obtain assistance, 
upon giving satisfactory evidence that the applica- 
tion is made in good faith. No solicitation of 
voters near the polls is permitted ; neither is the 
voter permitted to state at the polling-place how he 
has voted. A more technical description of the 
system might be given, but the above includes all 
features of importance. A somewhat peculiar law 
has recently been enacted in New York requiring 
voters, upon registration, to give their weight, 
height, etc., and authorizing mention in the regis- 
tration book of any unusual external marks — the 
object being to prevent fraudulent voting. 



Naturawzed Citizens. 

Naturalized citizens have the same voting privi- 
leges as citizens of native origin, except that, under 
the recently adopted Constitution of the State of 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 157 

New York, no citizea naturalized within ninety 
days preceding any election can vote at such elec- 
tion. An alien seeking naturalization as a citizen 
of the United States must declare on oath before a 
Circuit or District Court of the United States, or a 
District or Supreme Court of the Territories, or a 
court of record of any of the States having common 
law jurisdiction and a seal and a clerk, at least two 
years beiore his admission that it is, bona-fide, his 
intention to become a citizen of the United States, 
and to renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity 
to any foreign State or ruler, and particularly to the 
one of which he may be at the time a citizen or 
subject. At the time of his application for admis- 
sion he must also declare on oath, before some one 
of the courts above specified, "that he will support 
the Constitution of the United States, and that he 
absolutely and entirely renounces and abjures all 
allegiance and fidelity to every foreign prince, po- 
tentate, State or sovereignty, and particularly, by 
name, to the prince, potentate, State or sovereignty 
of which he was before a citizen or subject." 

It must appear to the satisfaction of the court to 
which the alien has applied for final admission that 
he has resided continuously within the United 
States for at least five years, and in the State or 
Territory where the court is held at least one year, 
and that during that time "he has behaved as a 
man of good moral character, attached to the prin- 
ciples of the Constitution of the United States, and 
well disposed to the good order and happiness of 
the same." If the applicant bears any hereditary 
title or belongs to any order of nobility, he must 
make an express renunciation at the time of his 
application. 

Any alien twenty-one years old and upward who 
has been honorably discharged from the armies of 
the United States may become a citizen on his 
pjetition, without any previous declaration of inten- 
tion, provided he has resided in the United States 



158 HAND BOOK FOR 

at least one year previous to his application and is 
of good moral character. Any alien who has re- 
sided in the United States three years next pre- 
ceding his twenty-first birthday, and has continued 
to reside thereiti up to the time he makes applica- 
tion to be admitted a citizen, mav. after he arrives 
at the age of twenty-one, and after he has resided 
five years within the United States, including the 
three years of his minority, be admitted a citizen ; 
but he must make a declaration on oath and prove 
to the satisfaction of tlie court that for the two 
years next preceding it has been his boua-fide in- 
tention to become a citizen. 

The children of persons who have been duly nat- 
uralized, being under twenty one at the time of the 
naturalization of their parents, are, if dwelling in 
the United States, to be considered as citizens. The 
children of persons who now are or have been 
citizens of the United States are considered as citi- 
zens, though they may be born out of the limits 
and jurisdiction of the United States. 

The naturalization of the Chinese is prohibited 
by Section 14, Chapter 126, Laws of 18S2. 

A foreign-born woman who marries a citizen of 
the United States, either native or naturalized, par- 
takes of his citizenship, and this rule applies even 
although the marriage takes place and the parties 
reside aV^oad. la the same way, according to 
Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, "a woman who 
is a citizen of the United States merges her nation- 
ality in that of a foreign husband on her marriage ; 
but it does not necessarily follow that she thus 
becomes subject to all the disabilities of alienage, 
guch as inability to inherit or transfer real prop- 
erty." In case of legal separation from her hus- 
band the wife may elect whether to preserve the 
foreign nationality acquired by her marriage, or 
re-acquire her former American citizenship. Upon 
death of the husband the former citizenship of the 
wife does not revert ; she must do some act by 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 159 

which to work a change in her nationality if she 
should desire to do so. 



Rights of Citizens Abroad. 

Section 2000 of the Revised Statutes of the 
United States expressly declares that *' all natural- 
ized citizens of the United States while in foreign 
countries are entitled to and shall receive from this 
Government the same protection of person and 
property which is accorded to native-born citizens." 

While the statute quoted is unqualified in its lan- 
guage, it is qualified by couunou sense in practice. 
A citizen abroad should exercise the same prudence 
and discretion in avoiding trouble for his country 
that lie would or should exercise in avoiding trouble 
for himself No sensible man will do a thing, or 
assume an attitude likely to bring on disturbance 
simply because he has a legal right to do so. Again 
there comes up the question whether the American 
citizen abroad who seeks government interference 
in his behalf has fulfilled the obligations of citizen- 
ship. Has he shown a disposition to share the 
common burdens of his countrymen, or has he in- 
tentionally avoided those burdens, and therefore 
forfeited all equitable claim upon the American 
people ? These are questions to be considered and 
decided by the executive upon any appeal for pro- 
tection and mediation from Americans abroad. For 
instance, suppose that an American citizen should 
have taken refuge in Canada during the civil war 
to escape the draft, and continued to reside there». 
it would be an extreme case indeed that would call' 
for interference in behalf of such a person ; and 
yet when that extreme is reached, the duty of the 
United States to protect their citizen is imperative 
and could not be neglected without a sacrifice ol 
the national honor. 



l6o HAND BOOK FOR 



Part X. 

NATIONAL PARTIES AND ADMINISTRA- 
TIONS. 

Federai^ists and AnTI-FEDERAIvISTS. 

Two parties existed iu the United States when 
the Federal Constitution was adopted — those who 
favored and those who opposed a strong central 
government. The former were known as Federal- 
ists ; the latter as Anti-Federalists. Washington, 
with Alexander Hamilton and the elder Adams, 
guided the Federalists, although it should be 
needless to say that no narrow partisanship found 
lodgment in the breast of Washington. He was a 
Federalist simply because he believed in making the 
Union powerful and perpetual. Thomas Jefiferson 
and James Lladison led the Anti-Federalists, who 
supported State's rights and a liberty of speech and 
action which the Federalists regarded as danger- 
ous, and which they sought to supprCvSS by despotic 
legislation. The Auti- Federalists, who afterward 
took the name of Republicans, sympathized with 
the French Revolutionists. The Federalists either 
believed, like Washington, in keeping strictly apart 
from Europe's quarrels, or they leaned to Great 
Britain, so far as they had any preference between 
the English and the French. When the excesses 
of the French Revolution had thrown a certain 
degree of odium upon its supporters, the Anti-Fed- 
eralists or Republicans were stigmatized by their 
opponents as Democrats. The name, given as a 



AMERICAN CITIZKNS. i6i 

reproach, was soon adopted ; and the party of 
Jefferson and Jackson called itself Democratic 
Republican, and its members were usually called 
Democrats. The name of Federalist having become 
unpopular owitig to the opposition of the party to 
the war with England, the Federalists adopted the 
designation of National Republicans, and some 
years later, of Whigs Other party names met 
with in American political writings are of a local, 
factional or temporary character. **Blue)ight 
Federalists" was a name given to those who 
were believed to have made friendly signals to 
British ships in the war of 1812. "Clintonians " 
and "Bucktails" were old factions of the Demo- 
cratic party in New York. "Barnburner" was 
applied as a term of reproach to a section of the 
Democracy known as "Free Soil " Democrats, who 
were in favor of excluding slavery from the Ter- 
ritories and future States of the Union. 

The contest for the Presidency in 1796, was be- 
tween the two parties. Federal and Republican, 
and resulted in the choice of John Adams for Pres- 
ident, and Thomas Jefferson for Vice-President, 
the former a Federalist, and the latter a Repub- 
lican. The Federal party still maintained a ma- 
jority in both branches of the Fifth Congress. Two 
laws were passed by this Congress, known in his- 
tory as the " Alien and Sedition I^aws," the enforce- 
ment of which caused nmch discontent. The 
Federalists had a majority in the Sixth Congress, 
the members of which had been chosen before the 
revolt against the "Alien and Sedition L,aws " 
With the election of Thomas Jefferson as President 
the Republicans obtained full possession of the 
Government, Up to Jefferson's administration 
there had been noremovals from office for political 
reasons. He claimed as a right of his party a due 
proportion of the offices. In the election of 1804 
the Federalists were again defeated, and success, as 
usual led to jealousy and conflict in the ranks of 



1^2 HAND BOOK FOR 

the victors. Jefferson was elected President by the 
House of Representatives, defeating Aaron Burr 
on the thirty-sixth ballot. About the begin- 
ning of Madison's first administration (1809) the 
word " Democrat." as applied to the Republicans, 
again appeared, but the name as that of a great 
political party, was not fully recognized until 1832. 



The Democratic and Wig Parties. 

With the first administration of Jackson began 
the life under its present name, of the Democratic 
party. The party opposed to him continued to be 
called the National Republicans, and were known 
by this name when they met in national conven- 
tion at Baltimore, in December, 1831, to nommate 
Henry Clay. Jackson was re-nominated in the 
same city, in March, 1832, by the Democrats. This 
contest was the first in our political history in 
which the parties made nominations through na- 
tional conventions. This period is also memor- 
able on account of the birth of a third party, 
known as the Anti-Masons, who in their call for a 
convention at Baltimore, in September, 1831, an- 
nounced as their principle— " Opposition to Secret 
Societies." They made William Wirt, of Virginia, 
their candidate, and carried the State of Vermont, 
with its seven electoral votes. As yet party plat- 
forms were unknown, but the National Republicans 
favored a tariff, internal improvements, renewal 
of the United States Bank charter, and the removal 
of the Cherokee Indians. About this time the 
term, "hard money party," began to be applied to 
the Democrats, Thomas Benton, and others of 
its leaders, denied the right of the government, 
under the Constitution, to make any money except 
gold and silver. 

For the contest of 1836 the Democrats in con- 
vention apain at Baltimore nominated Martin Van 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 165 

Buret! for President, and Richard M. Johnson for 
Vice-President. The opponents of that party about 
this time began to apply the epithet " Loco-Foco " 
to tho Democrats. The name originated from an in- 
cident which transpired at a noisy public meeting in 
New York City. After the lights had been put out, 
they were at once relighted by means of a loco- 
foco match, by one of the members of the dominant 
wing of the party. It was for some years merely 
another name fjr the Democratic party, applied by 
their opponents, the Whigs. The Democrats had 
previously, in a spirit of derision, applied the term 
*' Whig " to the National Republic ais. This name 
was accepted by the latter party, and now the two 
great opposing parties became known as Democrats 
and Whigs. The Whigs, and all opposed to Van 
Buren, imited en William Henry Harrison, but the 
election in November, 1^36, resulted in a majority 
of the Van Buren electors. Van Buren came to> 
the Presidency in March, 1837, on the eve of a 
financial panic. The Whigs at Harrisburg in 184a 
nominated William Henry Harrison for President, 
and John Tyler for Vice-President. The Democrats 
nominated at Baltimore Martin Van Buren again for 
President. 



The Liberty Party. 

A third party again appeared in the arena. It 
was styled the Abolition or Liberty party, and, 
nominated James G. Birney, of New York, for 
President, P'rancis Lamoyne, of Pennsylvania, for 
Vice-President. The leading principle of this new 
party may be inferred from its name, to- wit : Op- 
position 10 slavery. The Whigs in their national 
convention adopted no platform, while the Demo- 
crats submitted a declaration of principles. They 
declared the power of the federal government to be 
limited; opposed a system of internal improvements; 



i64 HAND BOOK FOR 

proclaimed that "justice and sound policy for- 
bid the government to foster one branch of in- 
dustry to the detriment of another, or one section 
to the injury of another;" urged economy; 
claimed that Congress had no power to charter a 
United States bank ; to interfere with the domestic 
institutions of the States ; that government money 
must be separated from banking instiiutions, and 
that this country is the asylum for the oppressed of 
all nations. Although, as stated, the Whigs had 
adopted no platform, they joined issue on the gen- 
eral financial policy of the Van Buren administra- 
tion, including the position of the Democratic 
party on the tariff, and protection to the industries 
of the country. This was the campaign of "Tip- 
pecanoe and Tyler too," of log cabins, coon skins 
and hard cider. Harrison and Tyler were triumph- 
antly elected, and the Whigs had a majority in 
both branches of Congress. 

The Whigs nominated Henry Clay and Theodore 
Frelinghuysen in 1844, and the Democrats nom- 
inated James K. Polk and George M. Dallas. Both 
parties outlined their principles in platforms. The 
Whigs declared for a well regulated national cur- 
rency ; a tariff for revenue, but favoring domestic 
industry ; distribution of the proceeds of the sales 
of public lands ; a single term for the Presidency, 
and reform of executive usurpation. The Demo- 
crats reaffirmed their platform of 1840, and added 
a declaration against distribution of the proceeds 
of sales of public lands among the States, a resolu- 
tion sustaining the President in his right to use the 
qualified veto, and one declaring that Oregon, 
which the British were attempting to seize, ought 
to be reoccupied, and Texas annexed. The Liberty 
party was also again in the field with James G. 
Birney for President, and Thomas Morris for Vice- 
President. The seven resolutions of its platform 
all related to slavery. Between the two great par- 
ties, Whigs and Democrats, the leading questions 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 165 

were tlie annexation of Texas and a protective 
tariff. Polk and Dallas were elected, the result 
bein^ determined by the vote of New York. The 
most important events of this administration were 
the annexation of Texas, the Mexican War, and 
the arliustment of the Oregon boundary, not on the 
line of ' ' fifty- four degrees, forty minutes or fight," 
but on the line of forty-nine degrees, as proposed 
by John C. Calhoun v/heu Secretary of State in 
Tyler's administration. 

In 184S the Democrats nominated Lewis Cass, of 
Michigan, for President, and William O. Butler, of 
Kentucky, for Vice-President. The Whigs, at Phila- 
delphia, nominated Gen. Zachary Taylor, of 
Louisiana, for President, and Millard Fillmore, of 
New York, for Vice President. The Democratic 
platform aflirmed that of 1844 ; congratulated the 
country on the result of the Mexican War; com- 
mended tiie qualified veto ; denounced a tariff, ex- 
cept for revenue ; congratulated the Republic of 
France, and endorsed Polk's administration. The 
platform h died "the noble impulse given to the 
cause of free trade by the repeal of the tariff of 
1842, and the creation of a more equal, honest, and 
productive tariff of 1846." The Whigs did not 
adopt a platform, claiming that their principles 
were well known. The slavery question was now 
agitating tlie country. Ijut neither of the great 
parties was ready or willing to commit itself. In 
the Whig convention a test resolution ou the ** Wil- 
mot Proviso " was voted down. 



Free Son. Democrats. 

A third party, the Free Soil Democrats, also 
appeared in the field, with Martin Van Buren 
for President, and Charles Francis Adams for 
Vice-President. Their opponents called them 



i66 HAND BOOK FOR 

"Barnburners," and so named them in allusion to 
thestoryof a Dutchfarmer, who, itwassaid, burned 
bis barn in order to clear it of rats and mice. The 
*• Barnburners" were pn offshoot of the Demo- 
cratic party, and mainly confined to the State of 
New York. They helped to carry that State for 
Taylor, and thus defeated Cass. The Free Soil 
Democrats, or "Barnburners," promulgated a 
lengthy platform, but its essence is embraced in 
the watchword, or motto which they adopted, to- 
wit: " Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor, Free 
Men. " The old Liberty party now united with the 
"Free Soil Democrats." Taylor and Fillmore 
were elected, but the Democrats controlled the 
Senate, with the Free Soilers holding the l^alance 
of power in the House. After sixty-two fruitless 
ballots, Howell Cobb, of Georgia, a slavery exten- 
sionist, was elected Speaker, on the sixty-third 
ballot. This session of Congress witnessed the 
-compromise measures of 1850 on the slavery issue. 
President Taylor died in July of that year, and the 
Whig party began to dissolve. The pro-slavery 
Whigs now favored the doctrine which was afrer- 
ward known by the name of squa ter, or popular 
sovereignty. They would leave the people of the 
Territories to decide as to the admission of slavery. 
Agitation of the slavery question continued. In 
1851 and 1852, three of the great party leaders — 
Calhoun, Clay and Webster, passed away. The 
Thirty-second Congress, which met in December, 
1851, was Democratic in both branches. Fillmore 
bad become President by the death of Taylor in 
1850. 

In 1852, again at Baltimore, the Democrats nom- 
inated Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire, and 
William R. King, of Alabama. A Whig National 
convention in the same city, brought out General 
Winfield Scott, of Virginia, and William A. Gra- 
ham, of North Carolina. The Democratic platform 
said : No more revenue than is necessary to defray 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 167 

the expenses of the government ; no national 
banks ; Congress has no right to interfere with, or 
control the domestic institutions of the States ; ea- 
dorsement of the compromise measures of 1850. 
The Whigs in their platform stood for sufl&cient 
power in the government to sustain it and make 
it operative ; favored revenue from tariff, framed 
*' with suitable encouragement to American in- 
dustry;" and internal improvements; endorsed 
the compromise measures of 1850, including the 
"Fugitive Slave Law." In August, 1852, the 
"Free Soil Democrats," as they called themselves, 
in a national convention at Pittsburg, nominated 
John P. Hale, of New Hampshire, and George W. 
Julian, of Indiana. They repudiated both the 
other political parties, and declared for no more 
slave States, no slave Territory, no national slav- 
ery, r nd no legislation for the extradition of slaves. 
The six resolutions of their platform all related to 
the one subject of slavery. The electoral count 
showed two hundred and fifty- four votes for Pierce 
and King, and only forty -two for Scott and Graham. 
The Whig party then ceased to exist. The Demo- 
cratic party became thoroughly pro-slavery. Presi- 
dent Pierce committing it in his first message to the 
compromise measures. The Thirty-third Congress 
opened with Jourteen Democratic majority in the 
Senate, and seventy-four over all opposition in tbtt 
House. 



The Know-Nothing Party. 

In 1852 appeared the secret organization com- 
monly known in history as the * * Know-Nothing ** 
party. Its members were silent as to its principles, 
and hence the name. Its cardmal principle, as 
known to themselves, was expressed in their motto 
— "Americans must rule America." Its counter- 
sign was " Put none but Americans on guard." In 



l68 HAND BOOK FOR 

1855 this party carried nine States and made its 
power felt in the congressional elections of that 
year. It elected forty-three membersof the House 
of the Thirty-fourth Congress, and there were five 
Senators of the party. The Know-Nothings were 
the first to nominate national candidates in 1856. 
Their convention met in Philadelphia, February 22, 
with two hundred and twenty-seven delegates 
present, and nominated Millard Fillmore, of New 
York, and Andrew J. Donelson, of Tennessee. A 
number of anti-slavery delegates withdrew from the 
convention on account of its failure to fciaintain the 
right of Congress to re-establish the Missouri Com- 
promise. 

The Democrats in national convention at Cin- 
cinnati, nominated James Buchanan and John C. 
Breckinridge. Their platform contained several 
clauses opposing Americanism ; advocating the 
restriction of revenue to necessary expenses ; favor- 
ing a strict construction of federal powers ; against 
a national bank ; endorsing squatter sovereignty, 
and approving the Kansas-Nebraska bill. 



Th^ Repubi^ican Party. 

Now came into existence the Republican party 
of to-day. The free States were aroused at last, 
and at a grand gathering of five thousand opponents 
of slavery the name ' ' Republican " was adopted for 
the new party. The first Republican National 
convention was held at Philadelphia in June, 1856. 
The nominees for President and Vice-President were 
John C. Fremont and William M. Dayton. The 
platform declared for the preservation of the Union 
of the States ; denied the right of Congress to give 
legal existence to slavery in any Territory of the 
United States ; declared that Congress ought to 
prohibit "those twin relics of barbarism, polygamy 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 169 

and slavery ; " denounced the pro-slavery policy of 
the Pierce administration ; demanded the admission 
of Kansas, with her free State Constitution ; favored 
government aid for a Pacitic railroad, and pro- 
nounced for a system of National improvements. 
Buchanan and i3reckinridge had one hundred and 
seventy-four electoral votes, and Fremont and Day- 
ton one hundred and fourteen electoral votes. 
Fillmore, the "American" candidate, carried 
Maryland, with eight electoral votes. 



The Democrats Divide. 

In April, 1860, the Democratic national conven- 
tion was held in Charleston, South Carolina, and 
after a long struggle between the extreme and the 
moderate pro-slavery elements, the convention 
adjourned without making nominations. At an- 
other convention held in Baltimore in June, 
Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, and Herschel V. 
Johnson, of Georgia, were nominated on a plat- 
form of so-called " squatter sovereignty " — that is a 
platform which proposed to leave to the people of 
the Territories the decision as to whether they 
should admit or debar slavery. This compromise 
course satisfied neither the extreme advocates of 
slavery nor its sincere antagonists, and the former 
held another convention, and nominated John C. 
Breckenridge, of Kentucky, and Joseph Lane, of 
Oregon, the Breckenridge wing asserting that the 
unorganized territory of the United States was open 
to all kind of property, including slaves. 



LiNcoi^N Expected. 

The Republicans held their National convention 
in Chicago in May, nominating Abraham Lincola 
and Hannibal Hamlin. The platform affirmed the 
principles of the Declaration of Independence; 



I70 HAND BOOK FOR 

denounced schemes of disunion ; denounced the 
pro-slavery policy of the Buchanan administration 
and its extravagance ; denounced the dogma that 
the Constitution carried slavery into the Territories ; 
favored the admission of Kansas as a free State ; 
protection to American industry ; a homestead 
law ; a Pacific railroad, and internal improvements. 
The American party, which had now changed its 
title to the "Constitutional Union party," held a 
convention in Baltimore, and nominated John Bell, 
of Tennessee, and Edward Everett, of Massachu- 
setts. Their platform affirmed the "Constitution 
of the country, the union of the States, and the 
enforcement of the laws." The nominations of 
i860 were followed, especially throughout the 
Northern States, by one of the most spirited 
campaigns in the history of parties in this country, 
resulting in the election of Lincoln and Hamlin. 

The platform of the Republican naiional con- 
vention for 1864 pledged the party to aid the 
government in the suppression of the rebellion, 
and to accept no peace not based on the uncondi- 
tional surrender of all armed rebels. It demanded 
an amendment to the Constitution prohibiting 
slavery ; pledged the party to the payment of the 
public debt, and approved the "Monroe Doctrine.** 
The convention renominated Lincoln for President, 
and recognized the Union men of the South by the 
nomination of Andrew Johnson for Vice-President. 
The Democratic national convention in 1864 nomi- 
nated George B. McClellan and George H. Pendle- 
ton. The platform declared for union under the 
Constitution; demanded "after four years' failure 
to restore the Union by war," the cessation of 
hostilities, and a peace convention. It denounced 
the war measures of the administration, and 
favored the preservation of the rights of the States. 
The electoral count showed two hundred and 
twelve votes for Lincoln and Johnson, and twenty- 
one votes for McClellan and Pendleton. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 171 

Secession having been subdued, the Thirty-ninth 
and Fortieth Congresses, strongly Republican, 
were confronted with many new and untried ques- 
tions of policy. Before ihe commencement of 
Grant's first administration, in March, 1869, the 
thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments 
to the Constitution, and other measures of recon- 
struction had been adopted. The legal tender act 
of 1862 was one of the issues between the two great 
parties up to 1870, when the Supreme Court de- 
cided in favor of its constitutionality. 



Liberal Republicans. 

In 1872, another new party, styling itself "Lib- 
eral Republican," sprang up, with Horace Greeley 
and B. Gratz Brown for President and Vice-Presi- 
dent. The Democrats accepted these candidates. 
The Republica 1 party renominated General Grant, 
with Henry WUson for Vice-President. Horace 
Greeley was overwhelmingly defeated, and died 
soon after. In 1876, the leading parties were the 
Republican and Democratic, Lebides the '* Green- 
back " or Independent paityand the Prohibition 
party, all of which held national conveniions, 
and made nominations for President and Vtce- 
President. The leading principlts of the Re- 
publican and Democratic parties have already 
been cxnlained, while the name of ''Prohibition 
party" is a sufficient indication <t its aim. The 
new i)arty know;i as the "Greenback party," now 
first appearing as a national ors^anizaiion, de- 
manded th i repeal of the "specie resumption act** 
of January i j, 1875; the United v^tates note, or 
"greenback," a^ a circulating medium and legal 
tender irresueciiv^ uf coin retlemption ; the sup- 
pression (jf bank pap rand no further issuer fgold 
bonds. In several States the Democrat* a lied 



172 HAND BOOK FOR 

themselves with this new party, and in some in- 
stances the coahtion proved successful, but as a 
national party it failed to carry a single State, 
although Peter Cooper, its candidate for President, 
received a popular vote of eighty-one thousand, 
seven hundred and forty. 



Ei<ECTORAi, Commission. 

The election of 1876 will always be memorable 
for its violent contentions, its intrigues, corrup- 
tions, frauds, its extraordinary procedures, and its 
result. The Democratic nominees were Samuel J. 
Tilden, of New York, and Thomas A, Hendricks, 
of Indiana. The Republican candidates were 
Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, and Wm. A. 
Wheeler, of New York. The controversy and 
struggle between the rival claimants occupied the 
closing months of Grant's administration. The 
dispute as to the result rested chiefly upon the 
question whether the electoral votes of Louisiana 
had been justly awarded to Mr. Hayes bj' the 
returning board of that State. The electoral votes 
of four States were, however, in question — South 
Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, and Oregon. Double 
returns had been received from them ; one set an- 
nouncing Democratic, the other. Republican elec- 
tors. If the Democratic return was accepted, 
Tilden was elected by thirty-seven votes ; if the 
Republican, Hayes was elected by one vote. The 
Republicans were in power, and held all the offices 
of Government. The Vice-President^;-^ tern., the 
presiding officer of the Senate, was a Republican. 
He was sustained by his party in claiming the right 
to decide between the lists of the State electors. 
This would assure the election of Hayes. The 
Democrats, who had a majority on joint ballot in 
Congress, denied the claim of the acting Vice-Presi- 
dent, and insisted that the determination rested 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 173 

with the two Houses of Congress. This, if agreed 
to, would give the Presidency to Tilden. The 
view of the Vice-President was upheld by the 
President and his Cabinet. A large body of troops 
was collected in Washington and its neighbor- 
hood, to be ready for any emergency. The Joint 
Electoral Commission was instituted after long 
debates, and tedious investigations into the func- 
tions of the Vice-President and the electoral votes 
of Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Oregon 
were accorded to the Republican candidates. This 
decision was accepted as better than the continu- 
ance of hazardous discord. Hayes and Wheeler 
were decl 'red President and Vice-President by the 
majority of one electoral vote. 

President Hayes withdrew the United States 
troops from South Carolina and Louisiana in the 
second month of his administration. In both States 
there were rival Legislatures and contending claim- 
ants for the Governorship and other State offices, 
and there had been, for some months, danger of 
violent collisions. General Grant had shown a 
disposition to remove the troops. He left this duty 
to be executed by his successor. As soon as it was 
done, the Democratic Governors, — General Wade 
Hampton in South Carolina, and General Nicholls 
in Louisiana — were inaugurated. 



Protection to the; Front. 

In the next national contest (1880), the Repub- 
licans declared for "protective duties," and the 
Democrats for "tariff for revenue only." The 
Greenback and Prohibition parties were again in 
the field with national tickets. The electoral re- 
sult was two hundred and fourteen votes for the 
Republican candidates, Garfield and Arthur, and 
one hundred and fifty-five for Hancock and Eng- 
lish. The assassination of President Garfield left 



174 HAND BOOK FOR 

the administration in the hands of Vice-President 
Chester A. Arthur, of New York. The closing 
year of President Arthur's administration found 
little change in the situation of parties. The 
eighth national convention of the Republican 
party, nominated James G. Blaine, of Maine, and 
John A. Logan, of Illinois. The Democrats named 
Grover Cleveland, of New York, and Thomas A. 
Hendricks, of Indiana. The Republican platform 
favored a tariff for protection, while the Democrats 
denounced the tariff then existing, and pledged 
the party to revise it, as they said, in a spirit of 
fairness to all interests. The Democrats also de- 
clared themselves opposed to sumptuary laws, and 
favored civil service reform. The Greenback and 
Prohibition parties presented candidates. The 
Greenback party nominated — or rather adopted as 
their candidate for President, Benjamin F. Butler, 
who had previously been nominated by a national 
convention of persons styling themselves Anti- 
Monopolists. The epithet "Mugwump " was now 
heard for the first time, being applied to that fac- 
tion of the Republican party, mainly in the State 
of New York, who claimed for themselves special 
purity of political methods. The "Mugwumps'* 
in New York, proved as disastrous to the Republi- 
can party in i88 1. as the "Barnburners" of the 
same State had to the Democratic in 1848. Cleve- 
land and Hendricks were elected by 219 electoral 
votes to 182 for Blair e and Logan. 

President Cleveland made the tariff the leading 
issue. He called for a general reduction of duties, 
and was sustained in the demand by his party, 
which again put him in nomination in 1888 with 
Allen G. Thurman, of Ohio, for Vice-President. 
Benjamin Harrison, of Indiana, and Levi P. Morton, 
of New York, were put in nomination by the 
Republicans on a platform of protection, and were 
elected, receiving 23^ electoral votes to 168 for 
Cleveland and Thnrman. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. ITS 

Thk Populist Party. 

In the election of 1892 a new political party — the 
People's or Populist — presented a formidable front. 
It was in reality an outgrowth of the Granger and 
Farmers' Alliance movement in the West and 
South, organized to uphold agricultural interests 
against the alleged oppression of corporations, and 
especially of railways. The Populist party proved 
a sort of political cave of Adullam to which the 
great number of voters, dissatisfied with the old 
parties, resorted. In the South, Populism stands 
for the numerous white element which considers- 
that it has been ruled long enough by the aristo- 
cratic survivors of the war, and which desires— 
without changing the existing relations between, 
whites and blacks— to establish greater equality 
among the whites. In the West the Populists are 
of allgrades of society, and the party io not pent 
up within any barrier of class. Extravagances on- 
the part of Populist leaders have tended to blind 
the public to the real importance of the movement, 
which undoubtedly represents a deep-seated protest 
against certain evils which have grown to mon- 
strous proportions, and which are becoming more- 
formidable. Whether a remedy can be found 
within the Imes of the old parties, or a new party 
will come to the front is a question as yet unan- 
swered. 

The candidates for President who received elec- 
toral votes in 1892 were — Republican, Benjamin. 
Harrison, renominated, and Whitelaw Reid, of 
New York, for Vice-President ; Democratic, Grover 
Cleveland and Adlai Stevenson, of Illinois ; Peo- 
ple's party, James B. Weaver, of Iowa, and James 
G. Field, of Virginia. Cleveland and Stevensons 
received 277 electoral votes, and were elected Presi- 
dent and Vice-President respectively; Harrison 
and Reid received 145 electoral votes, and Weave? 
and Field 22 votes. 



176 HAND BOOK FOR 

The Presidknt and Riots. 

The tariff struggle of 1894 has been elsewhere 
described. Of far greater interest and consequence 
as affecting the rights of citizens and the future of 
the Republic was the action taken by President 
Cleveland in the suppression of riotous outbreaks 
in Illinois and other States. The powers and duties 
of the President of the United States are fully set 
forth in the Federal Constitution, whicli also pro- 
vides that "the United States shall guarantee to 
every State in this Union a republican form of 
government, and shall protect each of them against 
invasion, and on application of the Legislature, or 
of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be 
convened) against domestic violence." It is also 
provided in the Constitution that the President 
"shall take care that the laws be faithfully exe- 
cuted." The use by order of President Cleveland 
of United States troops, in the summer of 1894, to 
suppress the anti-railway riots in Chicago and other 
parts of the United States, was formally approved 
in resolutions of Congress, adopted almost unani- 
mously ; but evoked a strong protest from the 
Governor of Illinois, who addressed the President 
as follows : 

" I submit that local self-government is a funda- 
mental principle of our Constitution. Each com- 
munity shall govern itself so long as it can and is 
ready and able to enforce the law, and it is in har- 
mony with this fundamental principle that the 
statute authorizing the President to send troops 
into States must be construed. Especially is this 
so in matters relating to the exercise of police 
power and the preservation of law and order. 

"The question of federal supremacy is in no 
way involved. No one disputes it for a moment, 
but under our Constitution federal supremacy and 
local selfgovcrnment must go hand in hand, and 
to ignore ihe latter is to do violence to the Consti- 
tution." 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 177 

President Cleveland briefly replied : 

"Federal troops were sent to Chicago in strict 
accordance with the Constitution and laws of the 
United States, upon the demand of the Post Office 
Department that obstruction of the mails should be 
removed, and upon the representations of the 
judicial officers of the United States that process 
of the federal courts could not be executed through 
the ordinary means, and upon abundant proof that 
conspiracies existed against commerce between the 
States. To meet these conditions, which are clearly 
within the province of federal authority, the pres- 
ence of federal troops in the city of Chicago was 
deemed not only proper but necessary, and there 
has been no intention of thereby interfering with 
the plain duty of the local authorities to preserve 
the peace of the city." 

As a similar crisis may arise at any time it may 
be of interest to quote the law under which the 
President acted. His authority is derived from 
section 5298 of the Revised Statutes, enacted July 
29. 189 1, and section 5299, which became a law 
April 20, 1871. The former provides that "when- 
ever, by reason of unlawful obstructions, combina- 
tions, or assemblages of persons, or rebellion 
against the authority of the Government of the 
United States, it shall become impracticable, in the 
judgment of the President, to enforce, by the or- 
dinary course of judicial proceedings, the laws of 
the United States within any State or Territory, it 
shall be lawful for ".he President to call forth the 
militia of any or all the States, and to emplov such 
parts of the laud and naval forces of the United 
States as he may deem necessary to enforce the 
faithful execution of the laws of the United States, 
or to suppress such rebellion, in whatever State or 
Territory thereof the laws of the United States 
may be forcibly opposed, or the execution thereof 
forcibly obstructed." Section 5299 is as follows : 

"Whenever insurrection, domestic violence. 



178 HAND BOOK FOR 

unlawful combinations, or conspiracies in any State 
so obstructs or hinders the execution of the laws 
thereof, and of the United States, as to deprive any 
portion or class of the people of such State of any 
of tbe rights, privileges, or immunities, or protec- 
tion, named in the Constitution and secured by the 
laws for tlie protection of such rights, privileges, 
or immunities, and the constituted authorities of 
such State are unable lo protect, or, from any 
cause, fail in or refuse protection of tbe people in 
such rights, such facts shall be deemed a denial by 
such State of the equal protection of the laws to 
which they are entitled under the Constitution of 
the United States; and in all such cases, or when- 
ever any such insurrection, violence, unlawful com- 
bination, or conspiracy, opposes or obstructs the 
laws of the United States, or the due execution 
thereof, or impedes or obstructs the due course of 
justice under the same, it shall be lawful for the 
President, and it shall be his duty, to take such 
measures, by the employment of the militia or the 
land and nnval forces of the United States, or of 
either, or by other means, as he may deem neces- 
sary, for the suppression of such insurrection, do- 
mestic violence, or combinations." 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. i79 



Part XI. 
PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 

PFli^ Brief Biographical Sketches of each from Wash^ 
ington to Cleveland. 

George Washington, 

FIRST PRESIDENT OE THE UNITED STATES. 



The most exemplary character, perhaps, that 
ever adorned auy era in history, and who received 
in his life-time the noble appellations of "the 
Founder of the Republic," and "the Father of his 
Country," was born in the county of Westmore- 
land, Virginia, on the 22d day of February, 1732. 
His early instruction was domestic and scanty, but 
full of good discipline and sound principles ; and 
as his father died when he was only ten years old, 
he had no subsequent opportunities for acquiring a 
thorough literary or scientific education. George 
Washington adopted early in life the profession of 
a surveyor, and he found agreeable and profitable 
employment in surveying different parts _ of his 
native Virginia. He also directed much of his atten- 
tion to the science of arms, in the use of which 
^v^xy young man was instructed, in order to repel 
Ae incursions of the Indians, who were often led 



l8o HAND BOOK FOR 

on by skillful Frenchmen. At the age of nineteen 
he was appointed one of the adjutant-generals of 
the colony of Virginia, with the rank of major, and 
«oon after he was advanced toacolonelc3^ and sent 
by Governor Dmwiddie to the Ohio with despatches 
to the French commander, who was erecting forti- 
fications from Canada to New Orleans, in violation 
of existing treaties. The Governor was so much 
pleased with the faithful discharge of this duty, 
that he ordered Washington 's journal to be printed. 
It afforded evidence of great sagacity, fortitude, 
and a sound judgment, and firmly laid the founda- 
tion of his future fame. 

In the Spring of 1755, Washington was per- 
suaded to accompany General Braddock as an aid, 
with the rank of colonel, in his disastrous expedi- 
tion against Fort Du Quesne ; and had his advice 
been followed on that occasion, the result would- 
have been very different. 

Three years afterward (1758) Washington com- 
manded the Virginians in another expedition 
against the French, which terminatt^d successfully. 
At the close of this campaign he left the army, and 
was soon after married to Mrs. Martha Custis, (the 
widow of Col. Daniel Parke Custis,) whose maiden 
name was Dandridge, and whose intelligent and 
patriotic conduct, as wife and widow, will ever be 
gratefully remembered in American annals. 

In 1759 Washington was elected to the House of 
Burgesses, and continued to be returned to that 
body, with the exception of occasional intervals, 
until 1774, when he was sent to represent Virginia 
in the Continental Congress. His well-tempered 
zeal and his military skill, which enabled him to 
suggest the most proper means for national defence, 
fixed all eyes upon him, as one well qualified to 
direct in the hour of peril ; and accordingly, after 
the first scene of the revolutionary drama was 
opened at Lexington and Concord, and an army 
had assembled at Cambridge, he was, on the I5tn 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. i8l 

of June, 1775, unanimously appointed commander- 
in-chief of the American forces. 

Aficr bringing the war to a successful termina- 
tion, Washington, on the 23d of December, 1783, 
formally resigned his commission. 

In May, 1787, lie was elected to the convention 
which met at Philadelphia for the purpose of 
forming a constitution, and was at once called 
upon to preside over its deliberations. After that 
admirable instrument was adopted by the people, 
he was unanimously elected the first President of 
the United States for four years ; at the expiration 
of which, he was unanimously re-elected for a 
second term. On the I2ih of December, 1799, 
this great man, the august instrument of Divine 
Providence in the achievement of American inde- 
pendence, was seized with an inflammation in the 
throat, which grew worse the next day, and termi- 
nated his life on the 14th, in the 6Sth year of his 
age. 



John Adams, 
»scond president op the united states, 



And whose fame as a patriot and statesman is 
imperishable, was born at Braintree, Mass., October 
19, 1735. He early displayed superior capacity for 
learning, and graduated at Cambridge college with 
great credit. After qualifying himself for the legal 
profession, he was admitted to practice in 1761, and 
soon attained that distinction to which his talents 
were entitled. From the commencement of the 
troubles with Great Britain, in 1769, he was among 
the most active in securing the freedom of his 
country. Being elected to the first Continental 



i82 HAND BOOK FOR 

Congress, he took a prominent part in all the war 
measures that were then originated ; and subse- 
quently suggested the appointment of Washington 
as commander-in-chief of the army. He was one 
of the committee which reported the Declaration 
of Independence in 1776, and the next year visited 
France as commissioner to form a treaty of alliance 
and commerce with that country. Although the 
object had been accomplished before his arrival, his 
visit had otherwise a favorable effect on the exist- 
ing position of affairs. At the close of the war he 
was appointed to negotiate a treaty of peace with 
Great Britain. In 1785 he was sent to England 
as the first minister from this country, and on his 
return was elected first Vice-President, in which 
ofl5ce he served two terms, and was then, in 1797, 
elected to succeed Washington as President. Many 
occurrences tended to embarrass his administration, 
and to render it unpopular ; but it is now generally 
admitted to have been characterized by patriotism 
and vigor equal to the emergencies which then 
existed. Upon the close of his term, Mr. Adams 
retired to his farm at Ouincy, where his declining 
years were passed in the gratification of his unabated 
love for reading and contemplation, and where he 
was constantly cheered by an interesting circle of 
friendship and affection. The semi-centennial anni- 
versary of American Independence (July 4, 1826,) 
was remarkable, not merely for the event which it 
commemorated, but for the decease of two of the 
most active participants in the measures by which 
indepei'dence was achieved. On that day, Adams 
and Jefferson were both gathered to their fathers, 
within about four hours of each other, "cheered 
by the benediction of their country, to whom they 
left the inheritance of their fame, and the memory 
of their bright example." 

President Adams married Abigail Smith, bora hi 
Weymouth, Mass., November 23, 1744; died at 
Quincy, Mass., October 28. 1818. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. iS^ 

Thomas Jefferson, 

third president oe the united states, 



Was born at Shadwell, Albemarle County, Va., 
(near Mouticello, the seat where he died,) April 13, 
1743. He was educated at William and Mary's 
College, and graduated with distinction when quite 
j'^oung. He was a great lover of learning, and par- 
ticularly of natural philosophy. With the cele- 
brated George Wythe, he commenced the study of 
the law, and became a favorite pupil. Mr. Jeffer- 
son was never distinguished as an advocate, but was 
considered a good lawyer. Soon after he came to 
the bar, he was elected a member of the House of 
Burgesses, and in that body was duly appreciated 
for his learning and aptitude for business. He at 
once took fire at British oppression : and in 1774, 
he employed his pen in discussing the whole course 
of the British ministry. His work was admired, 
and made a text-book by his countrymen. In 
June, 1775, he took his seat in the Continental 
Congress, from Virginia. In 1776, he was chosen 
chairman of the committee that drafted the Decla- 
ration of Independence. This instrument is nearly 
all Jefferson's, and was sanctioned by his coad- 
jutors with few alterations. In 1778, Mr. Jefferson 
was appointed an envoy to France, to form a treaty 
with that government, but ill health prevented his 
acceptance of the mission. He succeeded Patrick 
Henry, in 1779, as G >vernor of Virginia, and con- 
tinued in that station two years. In 1781, he com- 
posed his Notes on Virginia. In 178,5, he was sent 
to France, to join the agents of our country, Mr. 
Adams and Dr. Franklin. In 1785, he succeeded 
Dr. Franklin as minister, and remained in France 
two years, wben he retired, and returned home. 
In 1789, he was made Secretary of State, under 



l84 HAND BOOK FOR 

Washington, in which situation he was highly 
distinguished for his talents. Mr. Jefferson re- 
signed in 1793. In 1797, he was elected Vice- 
President or ilie United States, and took his ^eat as 
President of the Senate, on the following 4th of 
March. In 1801, he was elected President ol the 
United States, which office he held for eight years. 
After completing his second term, he retired to 
private life, in which he spent his days in philo- 
sophical pursuits, until the 4lh of July, 1826, when 
he expired, just fifty years after penning the Decla- 
ration of Independence. 

Thomas Jefferson married in 1772 Martha Wayles 
(Skelton), born in Charles City County, Va., Octo- 
ber 19, 1748; died at Monticello, Va., September 
6, 1782. She was v.ery beautiful, and was a widow 
at the time of her marriage to Jefferson. 



James Madison, 
fourth president of the united states, 



Was born in Orange County, Va., March 16, 1751. 
His studies, preparatory to entering Princeton Col- 
lege, were pursued under the most accomplished 
instructors. He was graduated from Princeton 
with high honor in 1771. On returning to Virginia, 
he zealously commenced the study of the law, 
which he subsequently abandoned for political life. 

In 1776, Mr. Madison was elected to the General 
Assembly of Virginia ; and from this period, for 
more than forty years, he was continually in oflSce, 



serving his State and his country in various capaci- 
ties, from State legislator to President. In 1778, 
he was elected to the Executive Council of the 
State, where he rendered important aid to Henry 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 185, 

and Jefiferson, governors of Virginia, and by hisr 
probity of character, faithfulness in the discharge 
of duty, and amiableness of deportment, he won 
the approbation of these great men. In the winter 
of 1779-80, he took his seat in the Continental Con- 
gress, and became immediately an active and lead- 
ing member, as the journal of that body abundantly 
testifies. 

In 1784, '5, '6, Mr. Madison was a member of 
the Ivegislature of Virginia. In 1787, he became a 
member of the convention held in Philadelphia, 
for the purpose of preparing a Constitution for the 
government of the United States. Perhaps no 
member of that body had more to do with the 
formation of that noble instrument, the " Consti- 
tution of the United States of America," than Mr. 
Madison, 

It was during the recess between the proposition- 
of the Constitution by the Convention of 1787. and 
its adoption by the States, that that celebrated 
work, "The Federalist" made its appearance.. 
This is known to be the joint production of Alex- 
ander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison. 
In the same year Mr. Madison was elected to Con- 
gress, and held his seat until the Continental Con- 
gress passed away. He was a member of the State 
Convention of Virginia which met to adopt the 
Constitution, and on the establishment of the new 
Congress under the Constitution, he was chosen 
a member, retaining his seat until the close of 
Washington's administration. 

In 1 801, as one of the Presidential electors, 
Mr. Madison had the gratification of voting for 
his illustrious friend Jefferson, who immediately 
offered him a place in his cabinet, which was ac- 
cepted. Accordingly he entered on the discharge 
of his duties as Secretary of State, which duties 
he continued to perform during the whole of Mr, 
Jefferson's administration. On the retirement of 
Mr. Jefferson in 1809, Mr. Madison succeeded to 



l86 • HAND BOOK FOR 

the Presidency, in which office he served two terms. 

Mr. Madison th'jn retired to his peaceful home in 
Virginia, where he hved respected by all, until on 
the twenty-eighth day of June, 1826, the last sur- 
vivor of the framers of our Constitution was gath- 
ered to his fathers, full of years and glory. 

President Madison's wife was Dorothy Payne — 
the beautiful and intellectual "Dolly Madison," 
-who was born in North Carolina, May 20, 1772, and 
died in Washington, D. C, July 12, 1849. 



James Monroe, 
fifth president of the united states, 



One of the few exalted characters that served his 
•country in both a civil and military capacity, was 
born in WestmorelanH County, Va., April 28, 1758, 
and was educated at William and Mary's College. 
He was graduated in 1776, and commenced the 
•study of the law. Anxious to aid in the struggle 
for independence, which had then just begun, he 
abandoned his studies, and entered the aimy as a 
•cadet — joining a corps under the gallant General 
Mercer. Monroe distinguished himself in several 
•well-fought battles, and rapid promotion followed, 
until he reached the rank of captain. He was at 
Harlem Heights and White Plains, and shared the 
perils and fatigues of the distressing retreat of 
Washington through New Jersey, as well as the 
glory of the victory over the Hessians at Trenton, 
i?vhere he received a musket-ball in the shoulder; 
Jiotwithstanding which, he valiantly "fought out 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 187 

the fight." He subsequently accepted the post of 
an aide to Lord Stirling, with the rank of major, iu 
which position he saw much hard service— being 
engaged in almost every conflict for the two 
succeeding campaigns, and displaying great cour- 
age and coolness at the bloody battles of Brandy- 
wine, Germantown and Monmouth. 

Aspiring to a separate command, Monroe ob- 
tained permission to raise a regiment in his native 
State ; for which purpose he left the army, and 
returned to Virginia, where he encountered so 
many unexpected and discouraging obstacles, that 
he finally relinquished the enterprise, and re- 
sumed his law studies in the office of Mr. Jefferson- 

In 1780 Mr. Monroe was elected to the Virginia 
Legislature, and in the following year was made 
one of Governor Jefferson's Council, in which he 
continued until 1783, when, at the age of twenty- 
four years, he became a member of the Contmental 
Congress. After serving three years in that body, 
he was again returned to the State Legislature. 

In 17S8, while a member of the convention to 
decide upon the adoption of the new Constitution, 
Mr. Monroe voted in the minority against that in- 
strument ; but this vote did not at all affect his 
popularity. Two years afterward he was elected 
United States Senator, and in 1794 he was sent as 
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary 
to the French Republic. After settling tne cessioa 
of Louisiana to the United States, he went to Eng- 
land to succeed Mr. King as Minister at the Court of 
St. James. The affair of the frigate Chesapeake 
placing him in an uncomfortable situation, he re- 
turned to the United States, and in 18 10, was once 
more elected to the Virginia Legislature. He was 
soon after chosen Governor of that State, in which 
office he remained until Mr. Madison called him to 
assume the duties of Secretary ot State in his 
Cabinet. In 1817, he was elected President of 
the United States, and in 182 1 was unanimously 



l88 HAND BOOK FOR ' 

re-elected, with the exception of a single vote in 
New Hampshire. His administration was a prosper- 
ous and quiet one, 

Mr. Monroe united with Jefferson and Madison 
in founding the University of Virginia ; and when 
the conveniion was formed for ihe revision of the 
constitution of his State, he was called to preside 
over its action. Not long after this, he went to 
reside with a beloved daughter (the wife of Samuel 
I/. Gouverneur, Ksq.,) in New York city, where he 
lived until the anniversary of independence in 
1831, when, " amidst the pealing joy and congrat- 
ulations of that proud day, he passed quietly and 
in glory away." 

President Monroe's wife was EHzabeth Kort- 
right, a dignified and accomplished woman, born 
in New York city in 1768 ; died in Ivoudou County, 
Va., in 1830. 



John Quincy Adams. 



SIXTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 



Was born at Quincy, Mass., July 11, 1767, and 
received the advantages of an excellent education 
before entering Harvard College. After being 
graduated with marked credit, he commenced 
uie study of law at Newburyport, in the office 
of the Hon. Thenphilus Parsons, for many years 
afterward Chief Justice of Massachusetts. While 
pursuing his studies he found leisure to write 
several newspaper essays, which attracted much 
attention, and displayed maturity of taste and 
judgment seldom attained so early in life. In 
1794 Washington appointed him minister to the 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 189 

Netherlands, and subsequently transferred him to 
Portugal. He was afterward, at different periods, 
minister to Prussia, Russia, and England ; and was 
one of the commissioners who negotiated the 
treaty of peace with Great Britain at Ghent in 
1815. In 1817 he was appointed Secretary of 
State, in which office he continued during Mr. 
Monroe's administration, eight years; when he 
was elected by the House of Representatives, 
President of the United States—the people having 
failed in making a choice. lyike his father, he en- 
countered strong opposition, and only served one 
term in this office, being defeated in a re-election 
by General Jackson. Mr. Adams then retired to his 
farm at Quincy, but did not long remain in private 
life ; for two years afterward, he was chosen rep- 
resentative in Congress, and continued to be re- 
elected until his death, which occurred in the 
capitol at Washington, February 23, 1848. Two 
days previous to this sad event, while engaged in 
his duties in the House of Representatives, he 
suffered a paralytic stroke, which apparently de- 
prived him of all consciousness. He was borne to 
the Speaker's room, where he received every atten- 
tion that could be bestowed by anxious and devoted 
friends, but all in vain— his hour was come. The 
last words he was heard to utter were, "This is the 
last of earth ! " 

Mr. Adams was a man of rare gifts and rich ac- 
quisitions. A diligent student, and economical of 
his time, he found opportunity, amidst all his pub- 
lic cares, to cultivate his tastes for literature and 
the sciences. He was one of the finest classical 
and belles-lettres scholars of his time, and filled the 
chair of Professor of Rhetoric and Belles- Lettres ia 
Harvard College for several years. 

President John Ouincy Adams' wife was Miss 
lyouisa Johnson, a niece of Thomas Johnson, of 
Maryland. Their son, Charles Francis Adams, be- 
came famous as a diplomatist. 



I90 HAND BOOK FOR 

Andrew Jackson, 
seventh president oe the united states, 

Was born at Waxhaw, Lancaster county, S. C, in 
1767, and while yet a mere lad, did something 
toward achieving the independence of his coun- 
try. It is said that he commenced his military 
career at the age of fourteen years, and was soon 
after taken prisoner, together with an elder brother. 
During his captivity, lie was ordered by a British 
officer to perform some menial service, vhich he 
promptly refused, and for this refusal he was 
** severely wounded with the sword which the 
Englishman disgraced." He was educated for 
the bar, and commenced practice at Nashville, 
Tenn., but relinquished his legal pursuits to " gain 
a name in arms." In the early part of the war 
of 181 2, Congress having voted to accept fifty 
thousand volunteers, General Jackson appealed 
to the m^itia of Tennessee, when twenty-five hun- 
dred enrolled their names, and presented them- 
selves to Congress, with Jackson at their head. 
They were accepted, and ordered to Natchez, to 
watch the operations of the British on the lower 
Mississippi. Not long after Jackson received 
orders from headquarters, to disband his men, and 
send them to their homes. To obey, he foresaw, 
would be an act of great injustice to his command, 
and reflect diseraceon tbecountr}', and he resoived 
to disobey. He accordingrly broke up liis camp, 
and returned to Nashville, bringing all his sick 
with him, whose wants on the way he relieved 
■with his private means, and there he disbanded his 
troops in the midst of their homes. 

Jackson was soon called to the field once more, 
and his commission marked out his course of duty 
on the field of Indian warfare. There for years 
belabored, and fought, and negotiated, with the 
extraordinary precedence and undaunted courage. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 191 

It was about this time that the treaty of the " Hick- 
ory Ground " was framed, which won for him the 
familiar designation of "Old Hickory." 

The crowning glory of Jackson's military career 
was the battle of New Orleans ; which will ever 
occupy one of the brightest pages in American 
history. After the war Jackson returned to his 
home in Nashville. In 1818 he was again called on 
by his country to render his military services in the- 
expulsion of the Seminoles. His conduct during 
this struggle has been both bitterly condemned 
and highly applauded. An attempt in the House 
of Representatives to inflict a censure on the old 
hero for the irregularities of the campaign, after a 
long and bitter debate, was defeated by a large 
maj ^rity. 

In 1S28, and again in 1832, General Jackson was- 
elected to fii 1 the Presidential chair ; thus occupying 
that elevated position for eight successi\ e years. 
He then retired to his hospitable mansion ("The 
Hermitage") near Nashville," He died June 8, 

1845. 

Andrew Jackson married Rachel Donelson, born 
in North Carolina \a 1767; died at the Hermitage, 
Tenn., D-^c. 22, 1831. The marriage was a peculiar- 
one. She had been married to a man named Ro- 
bards from whom she separated. Jackson f uppos- 
ing that the husband had got a divorce, married 
her, but was careful to repeat the marriage cere- 
mony when the divorce was actually procured. He- 
loved his wife and they lived happily. 



Martin Van Buren, 

EIGnTlI PRESIDENT OE THE UNITED STATES, 

Was born in the flourishing town of Kinderhook, 
N. Y., September 5, 1782, and early received the- 
b^t education that could then be obtained in the- 



192 HAND BOOK FOR 

schools in his immediate vicinity. Having suflfi- 
ciently prepared himself for the study of law, he 
•entered the office of Francis Sylvester, in his 
native town, where he remained about six years. 
But law did not engross his whole time : he found 
leisure occasionally to peer into the mysteries of 
political economy, and finally arrived at the con- 
clusion that his chances for fame and fortune were 
at least equal in the arena of politics to anything 
he might accomplish by a strict adherence to legal 
pursuits. Fully impressed with this idea, he early 
;set about cultivating what little popularity could 
be gained in his limited sphere, and so won upon 
the confidence of his neighbors and friends i:S to 
be appointed, while yet in his teens, a delegate to 
a convention in his native county, in which im- 
portant political measures were to be acted upon. 

In iSo3 he was appointed surrogate of Columbia 
•county, the first public office he ever held ; and in 
l8i2andl8i6 he was elected to the State Senate, 
in which body he became a distinguished leader of 
the Madison party, and one of its most eloquent 
supporters. 

In 1S21 Mr. Van Buren was elected to the United 
States Senate, in which he held his seat for nearly 
eight years, and became remarkable not only for 
his close attention to business, but also for his de- 
votion to the great principles of the Democratic 
party. 

In 1828 he was elected Governor of his native 
State, and entered upon the duties of that office on 
the first of January, 1829; but he filled the guber- 
natorial chair for only a few weeks. In March 
following, when General Jackson was elevated to 
the Presidency, he tendered ]\Ir. Van Buren the 
post of Secretary of State, which was accepted. 
At the expiration of two years he resigned his seat 
in the Cabinet, and was immediately appointed 
Minister to England ; but when his nomination 
was submitted to the Senate, (June 25, 1831,) it was 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 193 

rejected by the casting vote of the Vice-President, 
(Mr. Calhoun,) and of course he was recalled. As 
his friends attributed his rejection entirely to per- 
sonal and political rancor, it only served to raise 
Mr, Van Buren in the estimation of his political 
adherents ; and the result was, that in May follow- 
ing he was nominated with great unanimity for the 
Vice-Presidency by the Democratic Convention at 
Baltimore. His triumphant election was regarded 
not merely as a high compliment to himself, but 
as a wholesome rebuke to his opponents. 

In 1836 Mr. Van Buren was put in nomination 
for the Chief Magistracy, to which he was elected 
by a large majority over General Harrison ; but at 
the next Presidential election the tables were 
turned, and Van Buren only received sixty votes 
out of two hundred and ninety-four. 

After his defeat he returned to Kinderhook, 
where he remained some time, and then visited 
Europe, with one of his sons, whose restoration to 
health was the principal object of his journey. 

Mr. Van Barea consented once more to become 
a candidate for the Presidency, and in 1S48 re- 
ceived the nomination of the Free-soil party ; 
but he did not secure a sintrle electoral vote. He 
died at Kinderhook, New York, July 24, 1862. 

President Van Buren's wife was Hannah Hoes, 
born in Kinderhook, N. Y., in 1782; died in 
Albany, N. Y., February 5, 1819. She was a do- 
mestic and charitable woman. 



Wii^wAM Henry Harrison, 

NINTH PRKSIDKNT OF THE UNITED STATES, 

Was born in Charles City County, Va., February 
9, 1773, and was educated for the medical profes- 
sion at Hampden Sydney College. He graduated 



194 HAND BOOK FOR 

at a time when our northwestern frontier was suf- 
fering much from the neighboring Indians ; and 
believing that he could be of greater service in 
repelling the savage invaders than in pursuing his 
studies, he accepted an ensign's commission irom 
President Washington, and joined the army. He 
was promoted to a lieutenancy in 1792, and his skill 
and bravery were highly commended by General 
Wayne, under whose command he was engaged in 
several actions. After the bloody battle of Miami 
Rapids, he was rewarded with the rank of Captain, 
and immediately placed in command of Fort Wash- 
ington. In 1797 he resigned his commission, for 
the purpose of accepting the ofBce of Secretary of 
the Nortliwest Territory, from which he was elected 
a delegate to Congress in 1 799. 

When a territorial government was formed for 
Indiana, Harrison was appointed Governor, and 
continued in that office till 1^13. To his c ivil and 
military duties he add d those of commissioner 
and superintendent of Indian affairs ; and, in the 
course of his administration, he conclud' d thirteen 
important treaties with the different tribes. On 
the 7th of November, 181 1, he gained tlie cele- 
brated battle of Tippecanoe, the news of which 
was received throughout tlie count'-y with a burst 
of enthusiasm. During the war of 1812 General 
Harrison commanded the northwestern army of 
the United States, and he bore a conspicuous part in 
the leading events r f the campaign of 1 812-13, the 
defence ojf Fort Meigs, and the victory of the 
Thames. In 1814, he was appointed, in conjunc- 
tion with hiscompanionsinarms. Governor Shelby 
and General Cass, to treat with the Indians in the 
northwest, at Greenville; and, in the following 
year, he was placed at the head c f a commission 
to treat with various other importarit tribes. 

In 1816, General Harrison was elected a member 
of Congress from Ohio and, in 1S28. he was sent 
as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 195 

Colombia. On liis return, he took up his residence at 
North Bend, on the Ohio, where he lived upon his 
farm in comparative retirement, till 1837, when he 
became a candidate for the Presidency. Although 
defeated on the fir.-t trial, four years afterward he 
was elected by a large majority, and inaugurated 
in 1841. General Harrison did not long survive 
thJs crowning honor, as he died on the4th of April, 
just one month after entering upon his duties. His 
funeral obsequies were performed on the 7th, and 
an immense concourse assembled to pay their testi- 
mony of respect. Funeral services and proces- 
sions also took place in most of the principal cities 
throughout the country. As General Harrison was 
the first President who died while in office, his 
successor, Mr. Tyler, recommended that the I4tli 
of May be observed as a day of fasting and prayer,, 
and accordingly it was so observed. 

President William Henry Harrison's wife was 
Anna Symmes, born near Morristown, N. J., July 
25, 1775 ; died near North Bend, Ohio, February 
25, 1864. 



John Tyler, 

TENTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 

Was born at Williamsburg, Va., March 29, 1790, 
and at the age of twelve years entered William 
and ]\Iary College, where he graduated with dis- 
tinguished merit five years afterward. Few have 
commenced life at so early a period as Mr. Tyler- 
he having been admitted to the bar when only 
nineteen, and elected to the Virginia Legislature 
before attaining his twenty -second year. In 1816 
he was sent to Congress ; in 1825 he was elected 
Governor of Virginia, and in 1827 United States 



196 HAND BOOK FOR 

Senator, in which capacity he firmly supported 
the administration of General Jackson — voting 
against the tariff bill of 1828, and against re- 
chartering the United States Bank. Notwith- 
standing this last vote, the friends of the bank, 
presuming upon his well-known conservatism, at 
the special session of Congress called by his prede- 
cessor, introduced a bill lor the establishment of 
the "Fiscal Bank of the United States," which 
passed both houses by small majorities, and which 
Mr. Tyler felt bound to veto. But this did not 
dishearten the friends of the measure, who modi- 
fied and rechristened their financial plan, which, 
under the name of " Fiscal Corporation of the 
United States," again passed both houses of Con- 
gress, and was again vetoed by the President. Of 
course, a large portion of the party that elected 
him were greatly dissatisfied with his course, and 
their denunciations of his alleged faithlessness 
were "loud and deep." To add to the embarrass- 
ments which surrounded President Tyler, the mem- 
bers of his Cabinet, with the exception of Mr. 
Webster, resigned their places ; but even this im- 
plied rebuke did not shake his integrity of purpose. 
An equally efficient phalanx of talent was called 
to his aid, and he had the satisfaction of seeing that 
his views were endorsed by a large number of 
leading statesmen. It has been often asserted that 
Mr. Tyler had pledged himself to sustain the 
financial schemes of the bank and its friends ; but 
this has always been denied, and circumstances 
certainly warrant the conclusion that the assertion 
is unfounded. So gross and bitter were the assaults 
made upon him, that he felt called upon to defend 
himself from their violence ; and, after declaring 
his determination to do his duty, regardless _ of 
party tics, he said : " I appeal from the vituperation 
of the present day to the pen of impartial History, 
in confidence that neither my motives nor my acts 
will bear the interpretation which, for sinister 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. i97 

motives, lias been placed upon them." On the 
expiration of his official term, he retired to his 
estate at Williamsburg. When the people of sev- 
eral Southern States voted for secession Mr. Tyler 
was elected to the Confederate Congress. He died 
at Richmond, Va., January i8, 1862, and rests there 
in an unmarked grave, . . 

President Tyler s first wife was Letitia Christian, 
born at Cedar Grove, New Kent County, Va., No- 
vember 12, 1790; died in Washington, D. C, 
September 9, 1842. , -r t v 

President Tyler married as his second wife J uha 
Gardiner, born on Gardiner's Island, near East- 
hampton, N. Y., May 4, 1820 ; died in Richmond, 
Va., July 10, 1889. 

James Knox Polk, 

Ei,«VENTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 

Was born at Mecklenburg, N. C, November 2, 
1795, and there received the rudiments of his early 
education. In 1806 his father removed to Nash- 
ville, Tenn., taking his family with him, and there 
it was that Mr. Polk pursued those preliminary 
studies which were requisite to qualify him for the 
legal profession. After due preparation , he entered 
the office of the Hon. Felix Grundy, under whose 
able instruction he made such rapid progress, that 
he was admitted to praclice in 1820. His duties at 
the bar did not prevent him from taking partin the 
political affairs of the day ; and in this sphere his 
comprehensive views and zealous devotion to 
Democracy soon secured him a widely-extended 
popularity, which resulted in his election to the 
IvCgislatuVe of Tennessee in 1823. In 1825, while 
yet i'l his thirtieth year, he was chosen a member 
of Congress, in which body he remained fourteen 



198 HAND BOOK FOR 

years — being honored -with the Speakership for 
several sessions. So well satisfied were his con- 
stituents with his Congressional course, that he was 
elected Governor by a large majority, but some 
«[uestions of local policy defeated his re-election. 

In 1844 Polk was unexpectedly nominated for the 
office of President of the United States by the 
Democratic Convention at Baltimore, and, having 
received sixty-five electoral votes more than the 
rival candidate, Mr. Clay, he was inaugurated on 
the 4th of March, 1845. 

Soon after Mr. Polk assumed the reins of govern- 
ment, the country became involved in a war with 
Mexico, v/hich was little more than a series of 
victories wherever the American banner was dis- 
played, and wliich resulted in important territorial 
acquisitions. The ostensible ground for this war, 
on the part of Mexico, was the admission of Texas 
into the Union, which was one of the first acts of 
Mr. Polk's admii istration. The Mexicans, how- 
ever, paid dearly for asserting their claims to Texas 
as a revolted province, and the prompt and ener- 
getic course pursued by Mr. Polk was sanctioned 
and sustained by a large majority of the people. 

But notwithstanding the advantageous issue of 
the war, the acquisition of Texas, and the satisfac- 
tory settlement of several vexed questions of long 
standing, Mr. Polk was not nominated for a second 
term — various other reasons leading to the selec- 
tion of another candidate. Perhaps it was fortu- 
nate for the country and for himself that he was 
permitted to retire to the more congenial enjoy- 
ment of private life ; for his health had become 
very much impaired, and he did not long survive 
after reaching his home in Nashville. He died 
June 15, 1849. 

President Polk's wife was Sarah Childress, born 
near Murfreesboro, Tenn., September 4, 1803 ; died 
in Nashville, Tenn., August 14, 1891. She was a 
very handsome and well educated woman. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 199 

Zachary Taylor, 

tweiyfl'h president op the united vstates, 

Was born in Orange County, Virginia, November 
24, 1790, and, after receiving an indifferent educa- 
tion, passed a considerable portion of his boyhood 
amid the stirring scenes which were being enacted 
at that time on our western border. In 1808 he was 
appointed a heutenant in the United States infantry, 
and subsequently was promoted to a captaincy for 
his efficient services against the Indians. Soon 
after the declaration of war in 1812 he was placed 
in command of Fort Harrison, which he so gal- 
lantly defended with a handful of men against the 
attack of a large body of savages, as to win the 
brevtt rank of major. So familiar did he become 
with the Indian character, and with the mode of 
warfare of that wily foe, that his services at the 
West and South were deemed indispensable in the 
subjugation and removal of several hostile tribes. 
While effecting these desirable objects, he was oc- 
casionally rewarded fcr his toils and sacrifices by 
gradual promotion, and in 1840 attained the rank 
of brigadier-general. At the commencement of 
the troubles with Mexico, in 1845, he was ordered 
to occupy a position on the American side of the 
Rio Grande, but not to cross that river unless at- 
tacked by the Mexicans. He was not, however, 
allowed to remain long in repose: the enemy, by 
attackmg Fort Brown, which he had built on the 
Rio Grande, opposite Matamoras, soon afforded 
him an opportunity to display his skill and valor, 
and gloriously did he improve it. The brilliant 
battles of Palo Alto and Resaca dela Palma, where 
he contended successfully against fearful odds, 
were precursors to a series of victories which have 
few parallels in military aunals. The attack on 
Matamoras, the storming of Monterey, the san- 
guinary contest at Buena Vista, and the numerous 



200 HAND BOOK FOR 

skirmishes in which he was engaged, excited uni- 
versal admiration ; and on his return home, after 
so signally aiding to "conquer a peace" with 
Mexico, he was everywhere received with the most 
gratifying demonstrations of respect and affection. 
In 1848 General Taylor received the nomination of 
the Whig party for the office of President of the 
United States, and, being elected, was inaugurated 
the year following. But the cares and responsi- 
bilities of this position were greater than his con- 
stitution could endure, hardened as it had been 
both in Indian and civilized warfare. After the 
lapse of little more than a year from the time he 
entered the White House, he succumbed to disease, 
dying July 9, 1850. 

President Taylor's wife, Margaret Smith, was 
born in Calvert County, Maryland, in 1790. She 
died near Pascagoula, La., August 18, 1852. She 
was without social ambition, and took no part in 
the social duties of the White House, leaving these 
to her younger daughter, Elizabeth, known as 
"Miss Betty." 



MlLI^ARD FiLIvMORE, 
THIRTEENTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 

Was born at Summer Hill, Cayuga County, 
N. Y., January 7, 1800, and did not enjoy the ad- 
vantages of any other education than what he de- 
rived from the then inefficient common schools of 
the county. At an early age he was sent into the 
wilds of Livingston County to learn a trade, and 
here he soon attracted the attention of a friend, 
who placed him in a lawyer's office — thus opening 
a new, and what was destined to be a most honor- 
able and distinguished career. In 1827 he was ad- 
mitted as an attorney, and two years afterward as 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 201 

counsellor in the Supreme Court. Soon attracting 
attention, he established himself at Buffalo, where 
his talents and business habits secured him an ex- 
tended practice. 

His first entrance into public life was in January,, 
1829, when he took his seat as a member of the 
Assembly from Erie County. At this time he dis- 
tinguished himself for his untiring opposition to 
imprisonment for debt, and the people are indebted 
to him in a great degree for the expunging of that 
relic of barbarism from the statute book. Having: 
gained a high reputation for legislative capacity^ 
in 1833 he was elected a member of the national 
House of Representatives. On the assembling of 
the Twenty-seventh Congress, to which Mr. Fill- 
more was re-elected by a larger majority than was 
ever given before in his district, he was placed in 
the arduous position of Chairman of the Committee 
on Ways and Means. The measures he brought for- 
ward and sustained, speedily relieved the govern* 
ment from its existing pecuniary embarrassments... 
In 1847 he was elected Comptroller of the State of 
New York by a larger majority than had beets 
given to any State officer for many years. In 184S 
he was selected as candidate for Vice-President^, 
General Taylor heading the ticket . On his electioo 
to that high office, he resigned his place as Comp- 
troller, and entered upon his duties as President ®£ 
the United States Senate. The courtesy, ability^ 
and dignity exhibited by him, while presiding -ovsir 
the deliberations of that body, received general' 
commendation. Upon the sudden death of Gen- 
eral Taylor, Mr. Fillmore became President, and 
promptly selected a Cabinet, distinguished for its 
ability, patriotism, and devotion to the Union, and 
possessing in an eminent degree the confidence of 
the country. 

After serving out the constitutional term, Mr. 
Fillmore returned to Buffalo, and resumed the: 
practice of law. He died at Buffalo, March 8, 1874, 



ao2 HAND BOOK FOR 

President Fillmore's wife was Abigail Powers, 
the daughter of a clergyman, whom he married 
Feb. 5, 1826. She died three weeks after the close 
of his administration, having, Irving says, received 
her death-warrant while standing by his side on the 
cold marble terrace of the capitol, listening to the 
inaugural address of Mr. Fillmore's successor. 



FRANKI.IN PiERCK,* 
FOURTEENTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 



Was born at Hillsborough, N. H., November 23, 
1804, and early received the advantage of a liberal 
education. After going through a regular collegiate 
course at Bowdoin College, which he entered at the 
age of sixteen, he became a law student in the office 
of Judge Woodbury at Portsmouth, whence he was 
■transferred to the law school at. Northampton, 
where he remained two years, and then finished his 
•studies with Judge Parker at Amherst. Although 
Ihis rise at the bar was not rapid, by degrees he at- 
tained the highest rank as a lawyer and advocate. 

In 1829 Mr. Pierce was elected to represent his 
nativetown in the State Legislature, where heserved 
four years, during the last two of which he held 
the speakership, and discharged the duties with 
universal satisfaction 

From 1833 to 1837 Mr. Pierce represented his 
State in Congress, and was then elected to the 
United States Senate, having barely reached the 

* For the sketches of the Presidents from George Washington to 
Franklin Pierce, inclusive, I am largely indebted to " Wells' Na- 
tional Handbook," a patriotic work published at the time of the 
civil war. For the idea of appending sketches of the wives of the 
anarried Presidents I am indebted to " The Presidents of the 
iJnited States, edited by General James Grant Wilson, and pub- 
fished by D. Appleton & Co., from which admirable work I have 
also taken the data regarding those ladies.— H. M. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 203 

requisite age to qualify him for a seat in that body. 
Mr. Pierce was re-elected at the expiration of his 
senatorial term, but resigned his seat the year 
following for the purpose of devoting himself 
exclusively to his legal business, which had 
become so extensive as to require all his atten- 
tion. 

In 1846 Mr. Pierce declined the office of Attorney- 
Oeneral, tendered to him by President Polk ; but 
when the war with Mexico broke out, he was active 
in raising the New England regiment of volunteers ; 
and afterward accepted the commission of briga- 
dier-general. General Pierce at once repaired to the 
field of operations, where he distinguished himself 
in several hard-fought battles. At Cerro-Gordo and 
at Chapultepec he displayed an ardor in his coun- 
try's cause which extorted praise from his most 
inveterate political opponents ; and on his return 
home he was everywhere received with gratifying 
evidence that his services were held in grateful 
remembrance by the people. 

The Democratic Convention held in Baltimore in 

1852, after trying in vain to concentrate their votes 
on a more prominent candidate, unexpectedly 
nominated General Pierce for the office of Presi- 
dent of the United States, to which he was 
elected by an unprecedented majority over his 
rival. General Scott — receiving 254 votes out of 
296. He was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 

1853. His administration was more remarkable 
for its futile attempts to reconcile conflicting inter- 
ests, than for the achievement of any particular 
measure of great public utility. Mr. Pierce died in 
Concord, N H., Octobers, 1869. 

The wife of President Pierce was Jane Means 
Appleton, born in Hampton, N. H., March 12, 
1806 ; died in Andover, Mass., December 2, 
1863. 



204 HAND BOOK FOR 

James Buchanan, 

fifteenth president oe the united states, 

Was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. His 
father, of the same name, was an Irishman who had, 
eight years before, emigrated from Donegal, and 
had become a well-to-do farmer. The son completed 
his education at Dickinson College, Carlisle, and 
took his degree in 1809. He then applied himself 
to the study of law, was admitted to the bar in 
1812, and settled at Lancaster, in Pennsylvania. 

In the great struggle between President Jackson 
and the party headed by Mr. Calhoun, Buchanan 
warmly defended the President and his claims. 
In the first years of the movement against slavery 
he saw the large results which were likely to 
follow, and desired to suppress the agitation in its 
infancy, andtodothis by suppressing the discussion 
of the fiubject in Congress. He advocated the recog- 
nition by Congress of the independence of Texas, 
and at a later time its annexation. During the 
presidency of Van Buren, Buchanan greatly distin- 
guished himself in support of the principal meas- 
ure of the government — the establishment of an 
independent treasury. In 1845 he was appointed 
Secretary of State under President Polk; and at 
the close of his term of office in 1849, ^^ retired 
to private life. Four years later he accepted 
from President Pierce the post of United States 
Minister to Great Britain. 

He returned from England in 1856, and the same 
year was nominated as Democratic candidate for 
the Presidential chair. For a short time there 
seemed to be ground for hope that political pas- 
sions and excitement would subside. But this 
hope was soon found to be fallacious. The troubles 
in Kansas and the large questions involved in them 
.gave rise to new discussions and division. The 



AMKRICAN CITIZENS. 205 

President gave his support to the pro-slavery party, 
and dissensions grew during his administration to 
such an extent that disruption and war between 
North and South followed the election of his suc- 
cessor, President Lincoln. From the close of his 
administration in i86ountil his death, Buchanan led 
a retired life. He died at Wheatland, in Pennsyl- 
vania, June I, 1868. Two years before his death he 
published an account of his administration. 
President Buchanan was never married. 



Abraham Lincoln, 
Th:^ sixteenth president oe the united 

STATES, 

Was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, Febru- 
ary 12, 1809, of poor and struggling parents. His 
father, Thomas Lincoln, was somewhat shiftless, 
but his mother was a woman of superior intellect, 
who did all she could for her children. She died 
when Abraham was about nine years of age. The 
family cabin was in a wild region with little oppor- 
tunity for even the most ordinary education, but 
Lincoln learned all that the backwoods teachers 
could impart. When nineteen years of age he 
could write clearly and correctly, and showed such 
business capacity that he was intrusted with car- 
goes of farm products which he took to New 
Orleans and sold. In 1830 Lincoln's father emi- 
grated to Macon County, Illinois. Lincoln was 
now six feet four inches in height and of immense 
muscular strength. He assisted his father to build 
a cabin, split rails, and clear the ground for plant- 
ing. This being accomplished Abraham sought 
other employment, using his leisure time, as before, 
in constant reading. He learned the elements of 



2o6 HAND BOOK FOR 

English grammar aud began to study the principles 
of law. When the Black Hawk war broke out 
Lincoln served for about three months, being mus- 
tered out by Lieutenant Robert Anderson, who 
afterward commanded at Fort vSumter when the 
shots were fired that opened the rebellion. The 
young man was resolved not to stay in the ruts and 
he obtained a nomination for the legislature. He 
was defeated, but received a good number of votes, 
including nearly all from his own neighborhood. 
He now thought seriously of becoming a black- 
smith, but concluded to buy out a store, giving his 
notes for the stock. The business was ruined by a 
worthless partner, but Lincoln faithfully met the 
notes in full, enduring much hardship and privation 
to do so. In August, 1834, he was at length 
elected to the legislature, and was re-elected until 
1840. He took rank from the first among the lead- 
ing members of that body, and having acquired 
some knowledge of law he removed to Springfield, 
111., and entered into a law partnership. In 
1846 ]Mr. Lincoln was elected to Congress. He was 
not a candidate for re-election at the close of his 
term, but was recognized everywhere as the leader 
of the Whig party in Illinois. The repeal of the 
Missouri Compromise aroused all the energies of his 
nature, and his eloquent protests against that breach 
of faith evoked a responsive echo throughout the 
West. When the Republican party was organized 
Lincoln became its chief in Illinois, and when in 
1858 Senator Douglas sought a re-election to the 
Senate the Republicans put Lincoln forward as his 
antagonist. Their "joint discussions " are historic. 
The}^ dealt with the question of slavery and excited 
interest throughout the whole country. In brief 
they introduced the United States to the future 
President. In May, i860, ]\Ir. Lincoln was nomi- 
nated for President by the Republicans on the third 
ballot, William H. Seward, of New York, being his 
principal competitor. Thenceforward Abraham 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 207 

Lincoln was a part of the"nation's life, and his his- 
tory, down to the day of his death, April 15, 1865, 
from au assassin's cowardly shot, is the history of 
the civil war. Of Lincoln's character Robert G- 
Ingersoll has eloquently said : 

"Hundreds of people are now engaged m 
smoothing out the Hues of Lincoln's face, forcing 
all features to the common mold, so that he may 
be known, not as he really was, but, according ta 
their poor standard, as he should have been. 
Lincoln was not a type. He stands alone, no an- 
cestors, no fellows and no successors. He had the 
advantage of living in a new country, of social 
equality, of personal freedom, of seeing in the- 
horizon of his future the perpetual star of hope. 
He preserved his individuality and his self-respect. 
He knew and mingled with men of every kind;, 
and, after all, men are the best books. He became 
acquainted with the ambitions and hopes of the 
heart, the means used to accompHsh ends, the- 
springs of action and the seeds of thought. He 
was familiar with nature, with actual things, with 
common facts. He loved and appreciated the poem 
of the year, the drama of the season. 

"Lincoln was an immense personality ; firm, but 
not obstinate. Obstinacy is egotism; firmness, 
heroism. He influenced others without effort, 
unconsciously, and they submitted to him as men 
submit to nature, unconsciously. He was severe 
with himself, and for that reason lenient with 
others. He appeared to apologize for being 
kinder than his fellows. He did merciful things- 
as stealthily as others committed crimes. Almost 
ashamed of tenderness, he said and did the noblest 
words and deeds with that charming confusion, 
that awkwardness that is perfect grace of modesty. 
"He was an orator, clear, sincere, natural. He 
did not pretend. He did not say what he thought 
others thought, but what he thought. He knew- 
others, because perfectly acquainted with himself. 



2o8 HAND BOOK FOR 

He cared nothing for place, but everything for 
principle ; nothing for money, but everything for 
independence. Where no principle was involved, 
easily swayed, willing to go slowly, if in the right 
direction, sometimes willing to stop, but he would 
not go back, and he would not go wrong. He was 
willing to wait. He knew that the event was not 
waiting, and that fate was not the fool of chance. 
He knew that slavery had defenders but no defence, 
and that they who attack the right must wound 
themselves. He was neither tyrant nor slave. He 
neither knelt nor scorned. With him men were 
neither great nor small ; they were right or wrong. 
Through manners, clothes, titles, rags and race he 
saw the real. Beyond accident, policy, compromise 
and war he saw the end. He was patient as 
Destiny, whose undecipherable hieroglyphs were 
so deeply graven on his sad and tragic face. 

"Nothing discloses real character like the use of 
power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most 
people can bear adversity. But if you wish to 
know what a man really is, give him power. This 
is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincohi that, 
having almost absolute power, he never abused it, 
except upon the side of mercy. 

"Wealth could not purchase, power could not 
awe this divine, this loving man. He knew no fear 
except the fear of doing wrong. Hating slavery, 
pitying the master, seeking to conquer not persons 
but prejudices, he was the embodiment of the self- 
denial, the courage, the hope, and the nobility of 
a Nation. He spoke, not to inflame, not to up- 
braid, but to convince. He raised his hands, not 
to strike, but in benediction. He longed to pardon. 
He loved to see the pearls of joy on the cheeks of 
a wife whose husband he had rescued from death. 
I/incoln was the grandest figure of the fiercest civil 
war. He is the gentlest memory of our world. " 

President Lincoln's wife was Mary Todd, born 
in Lexington, Ky., December 12, fSi8; died in 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 209 

Springfield, 111., July 16, 1882. She belonged to a 
family regarded as socially far above lyincoln, 
and had several excellent suitors ; but she saw the 
worth of Lincoln, and accepted him. She never 
recovered from the shock of her husband's tragic 
death. 



Andre:w Johnson, 
seventeenth president of the united states, 

Was born in Raleigh, N. C, December 29, 1808. 
He died near Carter's Station, Tenn., July 31, 1875. 
His parents were very poor, and his father died 
when he was four years old. At the age of ten he 
was apprenticed to a tailor. He learned the alpha- 
bet from those employed with him. Johnson 
moved to Greenville, Tenn., and was fortunate in 
his marriage to an intelligent woman, Eliza McCar- 
dle, who taught him to write, and read to him 
when he was at work. 

lu Tennessee, Johnson acquired prominence as a 
champion of the people against the land-holding 
aristocracy. He became Mayor of Greenville, and 
was afterward elected to the legislature, and in 
1843 to Congress, and remained in Congress for 
ten years, w^hen he was thrown out by the ' * gerry- 
mandering" of district lines. Johnson was next 
elected Governor, and so earnestly advocated 
measures for the benefit of workingmen that he 
was known as the "Mechanic Governor," In 
1857, he was elected to the United States Senate, 
where he strongly supported the Union cause, 
although he did not antagonize slavery. His un- 
yielding opposition to secession won for him popu- 
larity in the North, as well as among the Unionists 
of the border States. He supported a vigorous 
prosecution of the war, and was appointed Military 



2IO HAND BOOK FOR 

Governor of Tennessee by President Lincoln, 
March, 1862. 

Although Johnson had always been a Democrat, 
except in so far as his Unionist course estranged 
the dominant wing of the part)" from him, the 
Republicans nominated him for Vice-President in 
1864, and when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, 
Johnson became President, In that office, he 
soon offended the Republican majority in Congress 
by the veto of party measures of reconstruction, 
and his defiance of the Teuure-of-Office Act was 
made a ground for impeachment. 

Thirty- five Senators voted for conviction, and 
nineteen for acquittal, and the vote for conviction 
lacking one of two-thirds, the President stood 
acquitted. After the expiration of his term, he 
went back to Tennessee. He was elected to the 
Senate in January, 1875, and died near Carter's 
Station, Tenu., July 31, 1875. 

If ever a wife made a husband, Eliza McCardle 
made Andrew Johnson by helping him to develop 
his really great abilities. She was born in Lees- 
burg, Washington County, Tenn. , October 4, 1810, 
and died in Home, Greene County, Tenn., January 
15, 1876. She appeared little in society. 



UivYSSES vSiMPSON Grant, 

Bightee:nth prEvSident of the united states,. 

Was born at Point Pleasant, Clermont County, 
Ohio, April 17, 1822. He was descended from 
Scottish ancestors, but his progenitors for eight 
generations had been Americans. His father 
owned a tannery, but Ulysses preferred work on the 
form. He attended the village school, and in 
1839 was appointed a cadet in the United States 
Military Academy at West Point. His name had 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 211 

originally been Hiram Ulysses, but it was entered 
erroneously at the Academy, and the family acqui- 
esced in the error. Grant graduated in 1843, 
twenty-first in a class of thirty-nine. Although 
this was not a high position, the writer is informed 
that Grant's abilities made an impression on at 
least one fellow-cadet who afterward joined the 
Confederacy. As a second lieutenant, Grant be- 
haved gallantly in the Mexican War, and was 
afterward promoted to captain. He resigned his- 
commission July 31, 1854, and settled on a small 
farm near St. Louis. Later, he became a clerk 
in his father's hardware and leather store at 
Galena, 111. He offered his services to the Na- 
tional Government at the opening of the war, but 
received no answer. June 17, 1861, he was ap- 
pointed Colonel of the Twenty-first Illinois Regi- 
ment of infantry, and on August 7, he was promoted 
to Brigadier-General. His career during the civil 
w^ar cannot, of course, be recited here. He was 
one of the great generals of the century, and he 
proved this at a time when the Confederacy was 
ia the zenith of its power and resources, as well as 
when he was pressing on relentlessly to Richmond. 
General Grant was elected President in 1S68, and 
served two terms — until March 4, 1877. 

The trouble between President Johnson and 
Congress prevented reconstruction from making- 
much progress until Grant took charge of affairs. 
His administration witnessed theawardof ^I5,5oo,- 
ooo for Anglo-Confederate depredations, by the 
Geneva Tribunal, and was distinguished also by 
the financial panic in 1873. When Horace Greeley, 
Democratic and Liberal Republican nominee for 
the Presidency in 1872, died a few days after the 
election, President Grant attended the obsequies. 
The President suppressed with a firm hand disor- 
ders in Louisiana which amounted almost to civil 
war. The close of his administration was made 
memorable by the Hayes-Til den Presidential 



212 HAND BOOK FOR 

controve^S5^ In private life, General Grant was 
unfortunate, being victimized by dishonest part- 
ners. He died of cancer, at Mount McGregor, 
July 23, 1885. 

Mrs. Julia Dent Grant survives her famous hus- 
band. She was born in St. Louis, Mo., January 26, 
1826, being descended from the brave Captain 
George Dent, who led the forlorn hope at the 
storming of Fort Montgomery in the Revolution, 
Captain Grant married her August 22, 1848. Mrs. 
Grant was a devoted wife and mother. She saw 
her husband twice inaugurated as President, and 
accompanied him in his journey around the world. 
Mrs. Grant resides in Washington. 



Rutherford Birchard Hayks, 

nineteenth president of the united states, 

Was born in Delaware, Ohio, October 4, 1822. He 
was educated in the common schools, and was sent 
afterward to an academy and to Kenyon College, 
Gambier, Ohio. On his graduation in August, 
1842, he was awarded the valedictory oration, 
which he delivered with credit. He afterward en- 
tered the law school of Harvard Universit}^, and 
finished his studies there in January, 1845. He subse- 
quently settled in Cincinnati, and was for some time 
city solicitor. He had strong anti-slavery feelings, 
and became captain of a military company 
promptly after the firing upon Fort Sumter. June 
7, 1861, he was appointed major of the 23rd Ohio 
Volunteer Infantry, and on September 19, in the 
same year, he was appointed by General Rosecrans 
judge advocate of the Department of Ohio. Pro- 
moted to lieutenant-colonel in October, 1861, his 
gallantry at South Mountain, where he led a 
charge while severely wounded, won for Hayes the 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 213 

rank of colonel, September 14, 1862, and as Colonel 
Hayes he did valuable service for over two years, 
ever distinguished for his courage and intrepidity, 
and always at the post of danger when it was the 
post of duty. He won the rank of brigadier-general 
at Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864, and on March 13, 
1865 he received the rank of brevet major-general. 
In December of the same year he took his seat m 
Congress. In 1867 General Hayes was elected 
Governor of the State, although the Democrats 
carried the legislature. He was re-elected Governor 
in 1869. In 1875 General Hayes was again elected 
Governor on a sound money platform, and 111 1876 
he was nominated for President by the Republicans 
against Samuel J. Tilden, Democrat. The Electoral 
Commission appointed to consider the disputed 
returns reported in favor of General Hayes, and he 
became President. His administration was chiefly 
marked by the withdrawal of United States troops 
from the Southern States, whice were thus enabled 
to assume complete local self-government, and also 
by the resumption of specie payments in 1879. 
After his term as President, General Hayes retired 
to private life. He died at his home in Fremont, 
Ohio, January 17, 189^. 

The wife of President Hayes was Lucy Ware 
Webb, born in Chillicothe, Ohio, August 28, 1831 ; 
died in Fremont, Ohio, June 25, 1889. Mrs. Hayes 
was distinguished for her interest in temperance 
work. 



JAMFS ABRAM GARFIEIvD, 

TWENTIETH PRESIDENT OE THE UNITED STATES, 

Was born in Orange, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, 
November 19, 1831. His father was of Puritan an- 
cestry, and his mother was of Huguenot descent. 



214 HAND BOOK FOR 

The mother was left a widow with four small chil- 
dren, of whom James was the youngest. His early 
life was spent in poverty, but the mother was a 
brave and conscientious woman, and never lost 
heart in the struggle to support her little ones. 
James A. Garfield went to school in a log-hut, 
where he learned to read, and at ten years of age 
he helped his mother by working at home or for 
neighbors. When not working, he was reading. 
For some mouths he drove a boat on the Ohio 
Canal, and he also learned the trade of carpenter. 
Young Garfield eagerly sought higher education, 
and saved money to enter college. After studying 
at the Hiram Eclectic Institute, Portage County, 
Ohio, Garfield came East and entered Williams 
College in the autumn of 1854. He was duly 
graduated with the highest honors in the class of 
1856. On his return to Ohio, he became teacher 
at Hiram Institute, and afterward its president, 
and he also pursued the study of law. When war 
came, Garfield did not hesitate. He was commis- 
sioned lieutenant-colonel in the Forty-second 
Regiment of Ohio Volunteers, in August, 1861, 
and a few months later was placed in command of 
a brigade in active service. He proved himself a 
gallant soldier, and his victory over the Confeder- 
ates at Middle Creek won him a commission as 
brigadier-general. As chief of staff to General 
Rosecrans, then in command of the Army of the 
Cumberland, General Garfield was instrumental in 
carrying the information to General Thomas which 
saved the army, and prevented Chickamauga from 
being an overwhelming defeat for the Union troops. 
For this action Garfield was promoted to major- 
general, September 19, 1863. He had been elected 
to Congress fifteen months before, and at the 
urgent request of President Lincoln, he resigned 
his commission to uphold the arms of the President 
in Washington. He remained in Congress, earn- 
ing a high reputation as a statesman and party 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 215 

leader, until elected United States Senator in 1880, 
to take his seat March 4, 1881. In June, 1880, 
however, General Garfield was nominated for 
President by the Republican party, and elected 
over his competitor, General Winfield Scott Han- 
cock. He therefore entered the White House 
instead of the Senate. On July 2, 1881, President 
Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau, a disap- 
pointed ofifice-seeker. President Garfield was taken 
to Elberon, N.J., in the hope that the change would 
benefit him, and died there, September 19, the same 
year. 

President Garfield's wife, Lucretia Rudolph, was 
born April 19, 1832, in Hiram, Portage County, 
Ohio. She met her husband when they were both 
students at Hiram, and they were married Novem- 
ber II, 1858. Of their seven children, five are 
living. 



Chester Ai,an Arthur, 
twenty-first president of the united 

STATES, 

Was born in Fairfield, Franklin County, Ver- 
mont, October 5, 1830. His father was the Rever- 
end William Arthur, a Baptist clergyman, of 
North of Ireland descent, and his mother was Mal- 
vina Stone, of American pioneer ancestry. Young 
Arthur had a good education, and his early life was 
not attended by any serious trials. At eighteen 
years of age he was graduated from Union College, 
and in 1853 he came to New York city and began 
the study of law. The Rev, Mr. Arthur was a 
strong opponent of slavery and this feeling was as 
strong in his son. The young lawyer acted as 
eounsel for fugitive slaves, defending their claims 
to liberty, and he upheld the right of the colored 



2i6 HAND BOOK FOR 

people to ride in the street-cars. Mr. Arthur left 
the Whig party for the Repablican, and took an 
active part in behalf of Fremont, in the campaign 
of 1856. In 1861 Governor Edwin D. Morgan ap- 
pointed Mr. Arthur on his staff as eugineer-iu-chief 
with the rank of brigadier-general, and when war 
began General Arthur, as acting quartermaster- 
general, began preparing the troops in New York 
city for the field . On February 10, 1862, he was 
appointed inspector general, and he inspected the 
New York troops at Fredericksburg and on the 
Chickahominy. In July of the same year Gov- 
ernor Morgan appointed General Arthur quarter- 
master-general. General Arthur went out of ofl&ce 
when Governor Horatio Seymour, Democrat, suc- 
ceeded Governor Morgan, but his administration 
of the quartermaster-general's department received 
high commendation from his successor. General 
Arthur thenceforward devoted himself to law 
practice until appointed Collector of the port of 
New York in November, 1872. General Arthur's 
administration of the Collector's office was made 
the object of harsh political attack and searching 
investigation, with the view of obtaining ground 
for his removal by President Hayes, but the evi- 
dence showed that the affairs of the custom-house 
had been conducted with honesty and efficiency. 
After r tiring from the collectorship General Arthur 
resumed law practice until elected Vice President 
with General Garfield in 18S0. Upon the assas- 
sination of Garfield, Arthur succeeded to the Presi- 
dency. His administration earned general approval. 
His course was moderate, discreet and dignified^ 
and he retired from the White House with the 
warm esteem of many who had been bitterly op- 
posed to him when they knew less about him. 
General Arthur died in New York city, November 
18, 1886. 

General Arthur's wife, Ellen Lewis Herndon, 
was the daughter of Commander William Lewis 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 217 

Hemdon, of the United States navy. She died 
January 12, 1880, the year before her husband be- 
came President. President Arthur's sister, Mrs. 
Mary Arthur McElroy, acted as mistress of the 
White House for her distinguished brother. 



GROVER C1.EVELAND, 

TWBKTY-SECOND AND TWENTY-FOURTH PRESI- 
DENT OE THE UNITED STATES, 

Was born in Caldwell, Essex County, New Jersey, 
March 18, 1837. His father, the Rev. Richard Fal- 
ley Cleveland, a Presbyterian clergyman, was of 
old New England descent. His mother was the 
daughter of a Baltimore merchant named Neal, of 
Irish birth. Mr. Cleveland's full name was Stephen 
Grover Cleveland, but the Stephen was dropped at 
an early period in his career. Young Cleveland 
had some schooling in academies. For awhile he 
was clerk in a country store, and later he became 
clerk and assistant teacher in a New York institu- 
tion for the blind. In 1855 he started to go west to 
Cleveland, Ohio, in search of employment. At 
Buffalo he called upon a relative by marriage, 
Ivcwis F. Allen, a well-known and influential citi- 
zen. Mr. Allen, who died recently at about ninety 
years of age, related the story of young Cleveland's 
visit to the editor of this Hand Book, some years ago. 
Young Cleveland appeared at the house with a 
bundle under his arm and told Mr. Allen he was 
going West. Mr. Allen advised him to remain in 
Buffalo, adding that the youth could make his 
home with Mr. Allen until he could find something 
to do. Cleveland consented to remain, and assisted 
Mr. Allen in preparing the * 'American Herd-Book, ' * 
doing his work at the very desk at which the writer 
was sitting during the conversation. In 1855 Mr, 



2i3 HAND BOOK FOR 

Cleveland obtained a place as clerk and copyist for 
the law firm of Rogers, Bowen and Rogers, iu 
Buffalo, receiving four dollars a week for his work 
during the autumn of that year. He was admitted 
to the bar iu 1859, but remained three years longer 
with the firm as managing clerk. He was 
appointed assistant district attorney of Erie County 
in 1863, and in 1865 was Democratic candidate for 
district attorney. Mr. Cleveland was defeated. In 
1870 he was elected Sheriff of Erie County. At the 
expiration of his three years' term he formed a law 
partnership with Lyman K. Bass, the Republican 
who had defeated him for district attorney, the firm 
being Bass, Cleveland & Bissell. In 1881 Mr. 
Cleveland was elected Mayor of Buffalo by the 
largest majority ever given to a candidate iu that 
city. He used the veto vigorously, and won gen- 
eral commendation. In 1882 Mr. Cleveland was 
nominated for Governor by the Democrats, and he 
was elected by the tremendous plurality of 192,854 
over Judge Charles J. Folger, his Republican com- 
petitor. In 1S84 Governor Cleveland was nomi- 
nated by the Democrats for the office of President 
against James G. Blaine, of Maine, and after a 
most exciting contest Mr. Cleveland was elected, 
receiving 219 electoral votes to 182 for Mr. Blaine. 
He made *' tariff reform " the chief aim of his ad- 
ministration and the leading issue of his party. 
Renominated in 1888 he was defeated by the Re- 
publican candidate. General Benjamin Harrison, 
of Indiana. Mr. Cleveland then made his resi- 
dence in New York city, where he became con- 
nected with a prominent law firm. After a bitter 
contest in his party Mr. Cleveland was renominated 
in 1892, and re-elected, defeating Mr. Harrison. 
The strength of Mr. Cleveland as a statesman is in 
his ability to touch a popular chord at the right 
time. He says right out what others are thinking, 
and his courage cannot fail to command the respect 
even of his most hostile critics. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 219 

President Cleveland married, June 2, 1886, 
Frances Folsom, daughter of the late Oscar Fol- 
som, and born in Buffalo, N. Y., in 1864. She is 
the first wife of a President married in the White 
House. A letter of President Cleveland, contain- 
ing eloquent testimony to the happiness of his 
married life, was recently made public. 



Benjamin Harrison, 
tw]sffty-third president oe the united states, 

Was born August 26, 1833, at North Bend, Ohio, 
being the son of John Scott Harrison and the 
grandson of William Henry Harrison, the ninth 
President of the United States. His great grand- 
father, Benjamin Harrison, was a delegate from 
Virginia to the Congress which made the Declara- 
tion of Independence. The father of ex-President 
Harrison was a well-to-do farmer, and young Har- 
rison assisted in work on the farm. He had a log 
school-house education to begin with, and when 
fifteen years old he went to Farmers' (now Belmont) 
College, at College Hill, a suburb of Cincinnati. 
He afterward became a student at Miami Univer- 
sity, and there became acquainted with Miss Caro- 
line Iv. Scott, whom he married before he was 
twenty-one years of age. He graduated fourth in 
his class in 1852, and studied law with Storer & 
Gwynne, of Cincinnati. In 1853 he was admitted to 
the bar, and in 1854 he put up his sign as an 
attorney in Indianapolis, where he has ever since 
resided. He had a hard struggle to gain a foothold, 
but by conscientious and constant attention to 
business he gradually won his way to a good prac- 
tice, and became widely known as a skillful and 
successful practitioner. 

When the war broke out Mr. Harrison was mus- 
tered into service as colonel of the Seventieth 



220 HAND BOOK FOR 

Regiment of Indiana infantry volunteers, and 
served with great credit throughout the war, first 
as regimental and afterward as brigade commander, 
being present at the surrender of General Johnston's 
army at Durham's Station, North Carolina, April 
26, 1865. In 1876 General Harrison was defeated 
as Republican candidate for Governor. He made 
a brilliant canvass of Indiana and other States in 
the Garfield campaign, and President Garfield 
offered General Harrison a place in his cabinet, 
which he declined. General Harrison was elected 
United States Senator in 1882, and served until 
1887. His course in the Senate strengthened him 
with his party and with the country, and he was 
selected as the most eligible candidate for the 
Presidency in 1888. In the campaign which fol- 
lowed Mr. Harrison added to the reputation which 
he had previously gained as one of the best orators 
of the age. He has no superior and perhaps no 
equal in pithy, effective and graceful deliverance in 
the forum and on the platform. Englishmen have 
read, as Americans have heard and read, his 
speeches with admiration. 

As President, Mr. Harrison upheld with firmness 
and dignity the honor of the nation abroad, while 
he attended with equal fidelity to the interests of 
the people at home. In his management of the 
Chilian controversy he was sustained by Congress 
without reg ird to party. During the first two years 
of the administration six new States formed consti- 
tutions and were admitted into the Union. They 
were North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, 
Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. 

President Harrison exhibited from the beginning 
a desire to strengthen the United States navy. 
Reciprocal treaties were made not only with the 
countries of South and Central America, but with 
leading governments of Burope, resulting in a much 
freer admission than heretofore of American prod- 
ucts for consumption in Germany, Austria, France 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 221 

and Spain. The laws and regulations relating to 
civil service were widened and extended and faith- 
fully enforced, not only according to their letter, 
but in accordance with their spirit as shown by the 
order which allowed only skilled mechanics to work 
on the new war vessels. The principal event of 
Mr. Harrison's administration, however, was the 
passage of the McKinley law. A few days before 
th« election of 1892 a great sorrow came upon Mr. 
Harrison in the loss of the wife who had been the 
companion of his struggles and successes. Upon 
retiring from the Presidency General Harrison was 
engaged by the late Senator Stanford to deliver a 
course of lectures at the Leland Stanford, Jr., Uni- 
versity, in California, on constitutional law. The 
circumstances of President Harrison's marriage 
have already been mentioned. His wife Caroline 
Lavinia Scott, was born in Oxford, Ohio, October i, 
1832, and died in Washington, D. C, October 25, 
1892. 

Congress in 1886 passed a bill, which was duly 
approved and became law, providing that, if at any 
time there should be no President or Vice-President 
the office of President should devolve upon a mem- 
ber of the Cabinet, the order of succession being as 
follows : The Secretaries of State, Treasury and 
War, the Attorney-General, the Postmaster- 
General, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secre- 
tary of the Interior. 



22'z HAND BOOK FOR 

Part XII. 

THE LATEST NATIONAL PLATFORMS 

repubwcan — democratic — populist— pro p! l- 
bitionist. 

Republican Platform Adopted at Minne- 
apolis. 



"The representatives of the Republicans of the 
United States, assembled in general convention on 
the shores of the Mississippi River, the everlasting 
bond of an indestructible Republic, whose most 
glorious chapter of history is the record of the 
Republican party, congratulate their countrymen 
on the majestic march of the Nation under the 
banners inscribed with the principles of our plat- 
form of 1888, vindicated by victory at the polls and 
prosperity in our fields, workshops and mines, and 
make the following declaration of principles : 

Protection. — " We reaffirm the American doctrine 
of protection. We call attention to its growth 
abroad. We maintain that the prosperous condi- 
tion of our country is largely due to the wise rev- 
enue legislation of the Republican Congress. We 
believe that all articles which cannot be produced 
in the United States, except luxuries, should be 
admitted free of duty, and that on all imports 
coming into competition with the products of 
American labor there should be levied duties eqtul 



AMHRIV-AN CITIZENS. 223 

to the difference between wages abroad and at 
home We assert that the prices of manufactured 
articles of general consumption have been reduced 
under the operations of the tariff act of 1890, We 
denounce the efforts of the Democratic majority of 
the House of Representatives to destroy 9^ thrift 
laws piecemeal, as is manifested by their attacks 
upon wool, lead and lead ores, the chief product 
of a number of vStates, and we ask the people for 
their iudgment thereon. 

Reciprocity.—'''^^ point to the success of the 
Republican policy of reciprocity, under which our 
export trade has vastly increased, and new and 
enlarged markets have been opened for the prod- 
ucts of our farms and workshops. We remind 
the people of the bitter opposition of the Demo- 
cratic party to this practical business measure, and 
cfeim that, executed by a Republican Administra- 
tion, our present laws will eventually give us con- 
trol of the trade of the world. 

5//^^^_«'The American people, from tradition 
and interest, favor bimetallism, and the Republican 
party demands the use of both gold and silver as 
standard money, with such restrictions and under 
such provisions, to be determined by legislation, as 
will secure the maintenance of the parity of values 
of the two metals, so that the purchasing and debt- 
paving power of the dollar, whether of silver, gold 
or paper, shall be at all times equal. The interests 
of the producers of the country, its farmers and its 
workingmen. demand that every dollar, paper or 
coin issued by the Government shall be as good as 
any other We commend the wise and patriotic 
steps already taken by our Government to secure 
an international conference to adopt such measures 
as will insure a parity of value between gold and 
silver for use as money throughout the world. 

Free Ballot and Fair Count.—' ' We demand that 
every citizen of the United States shall be allowed 
to cit one free and unrestricted ballot m all public 



224 HAND BOOK FOR 

elections, and that such ballot shall be counted and 
returned as cast ; that such laws shall be enacted 
and enforced as will secure to every citizen, be he 
rich or poor, native or foreign born, white or black, 
this sovereign right guaranteed by the Constitution. 
The free and honest popular ballot, the just and 
equal representation of all the people, as well as 
their just and equal protection under the laws, are 
the foundation of our Republican institutions, and 
the party will never relax its efforts until the integ- 
rity of the ballot and the purity of elections shall 
be fuUv guaranteed and protected in every State. 

Southefn Outrages. — "We denounce the con- 
tinued inhuman outrages perpetrated upon Amer- 
ican citizens for political reasons in certain .South- 
ern States of the Union. 

Foreign Relations. — '* We favor the extension of 
our foreign commerce, the restoration of our mer- 
cantile marine by home-built ships and the creation 
of a Navy for the protection of our National interests 
and the honor of our flag ; the maintenance of 
the most friendly relations with all the foreign 
Powers, entangling alliances with none, and the 
protection of the rights of our fishermen. We re- 
affirm our approval of the Monroe Doctrine, and 
believe in the achievement of the manifest destiny 
of the Republic in its broadest sense. We favor 
the enactment of more stringent laws and regula- 
tions for the restriction of criminal, pauper and 
contract immigration. 

Miscellaneous. — "We favor efficient legislation 
by Congress to protect the life and limbs of em- 
ployes of transportation companies engaged in 
carrying on interstate commerce, and recommend 
legislation by the respective States that will pro- 
tect employes engaged in State commerce, and in 
mining and manufacturing. 

"The Republican party has always been the 
champion of the oppressed, and recognizes the 
dignity of manhood, irrespective of faith, color or 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 225 

nationality ; it sympathizes with the cause of 
Home Rule in Ireland, and protests against the 
persecution of the Jews in Russia. 

' ' The ultimate reliance of free popular govern- 
ment is the intelligence of the people and the 
maintenance of freedom among men. We there- 
fore declare anew our devotion to liberty of thought 
and conscience, of speech and press, and approve 
all agencies and instrumentalities which contribute 
to the education of the children of the land ; but, 
while insisting upon the fullest measure of religious 
liberty, we are opposed to any union of Church 
and State. 

Trusts. — " We reaffirm our opposition, declared 
in the Republican platform of 1888, to all com- 
binations of capital organized in trust or otherwise, 
to control arbitrarily the condition of trade among 
our citizens. We heartily indorse the action already 
taken upon this subject, and ask for such further 
legislation as may be required to remedy any defects 
in existing laws and to render their enforcement 
more complete and effective. 

Po'it Office Reforms. — ''We approve the policy 
of extending to towns, villages and rural com- 
munities the advantages of the free delivery service 
now enjoyed by the larger cities of the country, 
and reaffirm the declaration contained in the Re- 
publican platform of 1888, pledging the reduction 
of' letter postage to one cent at the earliest possible 
moment consistent with the maintenance of the 
Post Office Department and the highest class of 
postal service. 

Civil Service. — " We commend the spirit and 
evidence of reform in the Civil Service, and the 
wise and consistent enforcement by the Republican 
party of the laws regulating the same. 

Nicaragua Canal.— ''The construction of the 
Nicaragua Canal is of the highest importance to 
the American people, both as a measure of National 
defence and to build vip and maintain American 



226 HAND BOOK FOR 

commerce, and it should be controlled by the 
United States Government. 

Territories. — "We favor the admission of the 
remaining Territories at the earliest practicable 
date, having due regard to the interests of the 
people of the Territories and of the United States. 
All the federal ofl&cers appointed for the Territo- 
ries should be selected from bona fide residents 
thereof, and the right of self-government should 
be accorded as far as practicable. 

Arid Lands. — ** We favor cession, subject to the 
Homestead Laws, of the arid public lands to the 
States and Territories in which they lie, under such 
Congressional restrictions as to disposition, reclam- 
ation and occupancy by settlers as will secure the 
maximum benefits to the people. 

Columbian Exposition. — " The World's Colum- 
bian Exposition is a great National undertaking, 
and Congress should promptly enact such reason- 
able legislation in aid thereof as will insure a dis- 
charge of the expenses and obligations incident 
thereto, and the attainment of results commensu- 
rate with the dignity and progress of the Nation. 

Intemperance. — "We sympathize with all wise 
and legitimate efforts to lessen and prevent the 
evils of intemperance and promote morality. 

Pensions. — "Ever mindful of the services and 
sacrifices of the men who saved the life of the 
Nation, we pledge anew to the veteran soldiers of 
the Republic a watchful care and recognition of 
their just claims upon a grateful people. 

Harrison's Administration. — "We commend 
the able, patriotic and thoroughly American admin- 
istration of President Harrison. Under it the 
country has enjoyed remarkable prosperity, and 
the dignity and honor of the Nation at home and 
abroad have been faithfully maintained, and we 
offer the record of pledges kept as a guaranty* of 
faithful performance in the future." 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 227 

Democratic PIvATform, Adopted at Chicacso. 

"The representatives of the Democratic party of 
the United States, in National convention assem- 
bled, do reaffirm their allegiance to the principles 
of the party as formulated by Jefferson and exem- 
plified by the long and illustrious line of his suc- 
cessors in Democratic leadership from Madison to 
Cleveland ; we believe the public welfare demands 
that these principles be applied to the conduct of 
the Federal Government through the accession to 
power of the party that advocates them, and we 
solemnly declare that the need of a return to 
these fundamental principles of a free popular 
government based on home rule and individual 
liberty was never more urgent than now, when the 
tendency to centralize all power at the Federal 
Capital has become a menace to the reserved rights 
of the States that strikes at the very roots of our 
Government under the Constitution as framed by 
the fathers of the Republic. 

Elections Bill.--''ySfe warn the people of our 
common country, jealous for the preservation of 
their free institutions, that the policy of federal 
control of elections, to which the Republican party 
has committed itself, is fraught with the gravest 
dangers, scarcely less momentous than would 
result from a revolution practically establishing 
monarchy on the ruins of the Republic. It strikes 
at the North as well as the South, and injures the 
colored citizens even more than the white ) it 
means a horde of deputy marshals at every polling 
place armed with federal power, returning boards 
appointed and controlled by federal authority, 
the outrage of the electoral rights of the people in 
the several States, subjugation of the colored 
people to the control of the party in power and the 
reviving of race antagonisms now happily abated, 
of the utmost peril to the safety and happiness 
of all, a measure deliberately and justly described 



228 HAND BOOK FOR 

by a leading Republican Senator as 'the most infa- 
mous bill that ever crossed the threshold of the 
Senate.* Such a policy, if sanctioned by law, 
wotild mean the dominance of a self-perpetuating 
oligarchy of office-holders, and the party first in- 
trusted with its machinery could be dislodged from 
power only by an appeal to the reserved rights of 
the people to resist oppression which is inherent in 
all self-governing communities. Two years ago 
this revolutionary policy was emphatically con- 
demned by the people at the polls, but in con- 
tempt of that verdict the Republican party has 
defiantly declared in its latest authoritative utter- 
ance that its success in the coming elections will 
mean the enactment of the Force bill, and the 
usurpation of despotic control over elections in all 
the States. Believing that the preservation of 
republican government in the United States is 
•dependent upon the defeat of this policy of legal- 
ized force and fraud, we invite the support of all 
citizens who desire to see the Constitution main- 
tained in its integrity with the laws pursuant 
thereto which have given our country a hundred 
years of unexampled prosperity ; and we pledge 
the Democratic party^ if it be intrusted with 
power, not only to the defeat of the Force bill, but 
also to relentless opposition to the Republican 
policy of profligate expenditure which, in the 
short space of two years, has squandered an enor- 
mous surplus, emptied an overflowing Treasury, 
afler piling new burdens of taxation upon the 
already overtaxed labor of the country. 

Tariff.— '^VJq denounce Republican protection 
as a fraud, a robbery of the great majority of the 
American people for the benefit of the few. We 
declare it to be a fundamental principle of the 
Democratic party that the Federal Government has 
no constitutional power to impose and collect tariff 
duties except for the purpose of revenue only, and 
we demand that the collection of sueh taxes shall 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 229 

be limited to the necessities of the government 
when honestly and economically administered. 
We denounce the McKinley Tariff law enacted by 
the List Congress as the culminating atrocity o€ 
class legislation ; we endorse the efforts made by 
the Democrats of the present Congress to modify 
its most oppressive feature in the direction of free 
raw materials and cheaper manufactured good* 
that enter into general consumption, and we 
promise its repeal as one of the beneficent results 
that will follow the action of the people in intrust- 
ing power to^ the Democratic party. Since the 
McKinley tariff went into operation there have 
been ten reductions of the wages of the laboring 
man to one increase. We deny that there has beea 
any increase of prosperity to the country since that 
tariff went into operation, and we point to the dull- 
ness and distress, the wage reductions and strike* 
in the iron trade as the best possible evidence that 
no such prosperity has resultedfrom the McKinley" 
act. We call the attention of thoughtful Ameri- 
cans to the fact that after thirty years of restrictive 
taxes against the importation of foreign wealth, in. 
exchange for our agricultural surplus, the homes 
and farms of the country have become burdened 
with a real estate mortgage debt of over ^2,500, - 
000,000, exclusive of all other forms of indebted- 
ness ; that in one of the chief agricultural. Statea 
of the West there appears a real estate mortgage 
debt averaging I165 per capita of the total popula- 
tion, and that similar conditions and tendencies, 
are shown to exist in other agricultural exporting 
States. We denounce a policy which fosters no- 
industry so much as it does that of the sheriff. 

Reciprocity. — * ' Trade interchange on the basis of 
reciprocal advantages to the countries participating 
is a time-honored doctrine of the Democratic 
faith, but we denounce the sham reciprocity which 
juggles with the people's desire for enlarged foreign, 
markets and freer exchanges by pretending to 



2^ HAND BOOK FOR 

establish closer trade relations for a country whose 
articles of export are almost exclusively agricul- 
tural products with other countries that are also 
agricultural, while erecting a custom-house barrier 
of prohibitive tariff taxes against the rich and the 
countries of the world that stand ready to take 
our entire surplus of products and to exchange 
therefor commodities which are necessaries and 
comforts of life among our people. 

Trusts. — "We recognize in the trusts and com- 
binations which are designed to enable capital to 
secure more than its just share of the joint pro- 
duct of capital and labor, a natural consequence 
of the prohibitive taxes which prevent the free 
competition which is the life of honest trade, but 
we believe their worst evils can be abated by law, 
and we demand the rigid enforcement of the laws 
made to prevent and control them, together with 
such further legislation in restraint of their abuses 
as experience may show to be necessary. 

Public Lands. — "The Republican party, while 
professing a policy of reserving the public land 
for small holdings by actual settlers, has given 
away the people's heritage, till now a few railroads 
and non-resident aliens, individual and corporate, 
possess a larger area than that of all our farms be- 
tween the two seas. The last Democratic adminis- 
tration reversed the improvident and unwise policy 
of the Republican party touching the public 
domain, and reclaimed from corporations and 
syndicates, alien and domestic, and restored to the 
people nearly one hundred million acres of valuable 
land to be sacredly held as homesteads for our 
citizens, and we pledge ourselves to continue this 
policy until every acre of land so unlawfully held 
shall be reclaimed and restored to the people. 

Silver. — We denounce the Republican legislation 
known as the Sherman act of 1890 as a cowardly 
makeshift, fraught with possibilities of danger in 
the future, which should make all of its supporters, 



AMERICAN CITIZRNS. 231 

as well as its author, anxious for its speedy repeal 
We hold to the use of both gold and silver as the 
standard money of the country, and to the coinage 
of both gold and silver, without discriminating 
agamst either metal or charge for mintage, but the 
dollar unit of coinage of both metals must be of 
equal intrinsic and exchangeable value or be ad- 
justed through international agreement, or by 
such safeguards of legislation as shall insure the 
mamtenance of the parity of the two metals and 
the equal power of every dollar at all times in the 
markets and m payments of debts ; and we demand 
that all paper currency shall be kept at par with 
and redeemable in such coin. We insist upon this 
policy as especially necessary for the protection of 
the farmers and laboring classes, the first and most 
defenceless victims of unstable money and a fluc- 
tuating currency. 

Bankmg.—''^^ recommend that the prohibi- 
tory 10 per cent tax on State bank issues be re- 
pealed. 

Civil Service.— '' 'V\xhY\zo^(iQ is a public trust.' 
We reaffirm the declaration of the Democratic 
National convention of 1S76 for the reform of this 
civil service, and we call for the honest enforce- 
ment of all laws regulating the same. The 
nomination of a President, as in the recent Repub- 
hcan convention, by delegations compo^.ed laro-ely 
of his appointees, holding office at his pleasure, is 
a scandalous satire upon free popular institutions 
and a startling illustration of the methods by 
which a President may gratify his ambition. We 
denounce a policy under which federal office- 
holders usurp control of party conventions in the 
States, and we pledge the Democratic party to the 
reform of these and all other abuses which threaten 
individual liberty and local self-government 

Foreign Policy.— ''r\iQ Democratic party is the 
only party that has ever given the country a 
foreign policy consistent and vigorous, compelling 



232 HAND BOOK FOR 

respect abroad and inspiring confidence at home. 
While avoiding entangling alliances, it has aimed 
to cultivate friendly relations with other nations, 
and especially with our neighbors on the American 
continent, whose destiny is closely linked with our 
own, and we view with alarm the tendency to 
a policy of irritation and bluster which is liable at 
any time to confront us with the alternative of 
humiliation or war. We favor the maintenance 
of a navy strong enough for all purposes of national 
defence, and to properly maintain the honor and 
dignity of the country abroad. 

Foreign Oppression. — "This country has always 
been the refuge of oppressed from every land — 
exiles for conscience sake — and in the spirit of the 
founders of our government we condemn the op- 
pression practiced by the Russian Government 
upon its Lutheran and Jewish subjects, and we 
call upon our National Government, in the interests- 
of justice and humanity, by all just and proper 
means to use its prompt and best effort to bring 
about a cessation of these cruel persecutions in the 
dominions of the Czar, and to secure to the op- 
pressed equal rights. We tender our profound and 
earnest sympathy to those lovers of freedom who 
are struggling for home rule and the great cause of 
local self-government in Ireland. 

Immigration. — "We heartily approve all legiti- 
mate efforts to prevent the United States from 
being used as a dumping ground for the known 
criminals and professional paupers of Europe, and 
we demand the rigid enforcement of the laws- 
against Chinese immigration or the importation 
of foreign workmen under contract to degrade 
American labor and lessen its wages, but we con- 
demn and denounce any and all attempts to restrict 
the immigration of the industrious and worthy of 
foreign lands. 

Pensions, — "This convention hereby renews the 
expression of appreciation of the patriotism of the 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 233 

soldiers and sailors of the Union in the war for its 
preservation, and we favor just and liberal pensions 
for all disabled Union soldiers, their widows and 
dependents, but we demand that the work of the 
Pension Office shall be done industriously, impar- 
tially, and honestly. We denounce the present 
administration of that office as incompetent, cor- 
rupt, disgraceful and dishonest. 

Waterways. — "The Federal Government should 
care for and improve the Mississippi River and 
other great waterways of the Republic so as to 
secure for the interior States easy and cheap trans- 
portation to the tidewater. When any waterway 
of the public is of sufficient importance to demand 
the aid of the government, that such aid should 
be extended, in a definite plan of continuous work, 
until permanent improvement is secured. 

Nicaragua Canal. — "For purposes of National 
defence, the promotion of commerce between the 
States, we recognize the early construction of the 
Nicaragua Canal and its protection against foreign 
control as of great importance to the United States. 

World's Fair. — "Recognizing the World's Co- 
lumbian Exposition as a National undertaking of 
vast importance in which the General Government 
has invited the co-operation of all the powers of the 
world, and appreciating the acceptance by many 
of such powers of the invitation so extended, and 
the broadest liberal efforts being made by them to 
contribute to the grandeur of the undertaking, we 
are of the opinior that Congress should make such 
necessary financial provisions as shall be requisite 
to the maintenance of the National honor and pub- 
lic faith. 

Public Schools. — "Popular education being the 
only safe basis of popular suffrage, we recommend 
to the several States most liberal appropriations for 
the public schools. Free common schools are the 
nursery of good government, and they have always 
received the fostering care of the Democratic 



234 HAND BOOK FOR 

party, which favors every means of increasing 
intelligence. Freedom of education being an es- 
sential of civil and religious liberty, as well as a 
necessity for the development of intelligence, must 
not be interfered with under any pretext whatever. 
We are opposed to State interference with parental 
rights and rights of conscience in the education of 
children as an infringement of a fundamental Dem- 
ocratic doctrine that the largest individual liberty 
consistent with the rights of others insures the 
highest type of American citizenship and the best 
government. . 

Territories.—'' We approve the action of the 
present House of Representatives in passing bills 
for the admission into the Union as States of the 
Territories of New Mexico and Arizona, and we 
favor the early admission of all the Territories hav- 
ing necessary population and resources to admit 
them to Statehood, and while they remain Terri- 
tories we hold that the officials appointed to 
administer the government of any Territory, to- 
gether with the District of Columbia and Alaska, 
should be bona fide residents of the Territory or 
district in which their duties are to be performed. 
The Democratic party believes in home rule and the 
control of their own affairs by the people of the 
vicinage. , 

Za^or.—** We favor legislation by Congress and 
State IvCgislatures to protect the lives and limbs of 
railway employes and those of other hazardous 
transportation companies, and denounce the inac- 
tivity of the Republican party, particularly the Re- 
publican Senate, for causing the defeat of measures 
beneficial and protective to this class of wage work- 
ers. We are in favor of the enactment by the 
States of laws for abolishing the notorious sweating 
system, for abolishing contract convict labor and 
for prohibiting the employment in factories of 
children under fifteen years of age. 

Miscellaneous.—''^^ are opposed to all sump- 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 235 

tuary law as an interference with the individual 
rights of the citizen. Upon this statement of prin- 
ciples and policies the Democratic party asks the 
intelligent judgment of the American people. It 
asks a change of administration and a change of 
party, in order that there might be a change of sys- 
tem and a change of methods, thus assuring the 
maintenance unimpaired of institutions under 
which the Republic has grown great and power- 
ful." 



The Platform, as reported from the Committee 
on Resolutions, contained this declaration, as the 
first paragraph of Sec. 3, with the heading " Rev- 
enue Tariffs : " 

"We reiterate the oft-repeated doctrines of the 
Democratic party that the necessity of the govern- 
ment is the only justification for taxation, and 
whenever a tax is unnecessary it is unjustifiable; 
that when custom-house taxation is levied upon 
articles of any kind produced in this country, the 
difference between the cost of labor here and labor 
abroad, when such a differance exists, fully meas- 
ures any possible benefits to labor, and the 
enormous additional impositions of the existing 
tariff" fall with crushing force upon our farmers and 
workingmen, and for the mere advantage of the 
few whom it enriches, exact from labor a grossly 
unjust share of thj expenses of the government, 
and we demand such a revision of the tariff" laws as 
will remove their iniquitous inequalities, lighten 
their oppressions and put them on a constitutional 
and equitable basis. But in making reduction in 
taxes it is not proposed to injure any domestic in- 
dustries, but rather to promote their healthy growth. 
From the foundation of this government taxes col- 
lected at the custom house have been the chief 
■source of federal revenue. Such they must con- 
tinue to be. Moreover, many industries have come 



236 HAND BOOK FOR 

to rely upon legislation for successful continuance, 
so that any change of law must be at every step 
regardful of the labor and capital thus involved. 
The process of reform must be subject in the exe- 
cution of this plain dictate of justice." 

On motion of Lawrence T. Neal, of Ohio, the 
above paragraph was struck from the Platform and 
the following substituted : 

"We denounce Republican Protection as a fraud, 
a robbery of the great majority of the American 
people for the benefit of the few. We declare it to 
be a fundamental principle of the Democratic party 
that the Federal Government has no constitutional 
power to impose and to collect tariff duties, except 
for the purpose of revenue only, and we demand 
that the collection of such taxes shall be limited to 
the necessities of the government when honestly 
and economically administered." 



The People's Party Pi^atform. 

"Assembled upon the one hundred and sixteenth 
anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, 
the People's Party of America, in their first Na- 
tional convention, invoking upon their action the 
blessing of Almighty God, puts forth, in the name 
and on behalf of the people of this country, the 
following preamble and declaration of principles : 

"The conditions which surround us best justify 
our co-operation. We meet in the midst of a 
nation brought to the verge of moral, political and 
material ruin. Corruption dominates the ballot 
box, the legislatures, the Congress, and touches 
even the ermine of the Bench. The people are 
demoralized ; most of the States have been com- 
pelled to isolate the voters at the polling places to 
prevent universal intimidation or bribery. The 
newspapers are largely subsidized or muzzled, 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 237 

public opinion silenced, business prostrated, our 
homes covered with mortgages, labor impover- 
ished, and the land concentrating in the hands of 
the capitalists. The urban v^rorkmen are denied 
the right of organization for self-protection ; im- 
ported pauperized labor beats down their wages ; 
a hireling standing army, unrecognized by our 
laws, is established to shoot them down, and they 
are rapidly degenerating into European conditions. 
The fruits of the toil of millions are boldly stolen 
to build up colossal fortunes for a few, unprece- 
dented in the history of mankind, and the posses- 
sors of these in turn despise the Republic and 
endanger liberty. From the same prolific womb 
of governmental injustice we breed the two great 
classes— tramps and millionaires. 

"The national power to create money is appro- 
priated to enrich bondholders ; a vast public debt, 
payable in legal tender currency, has been funded 
into gold-bearing bonds, thereby adding millions 
to the burdens of the people. Silver, which has 
been accepted as coin since the dawn of history, 
has been demonetized to add to the purchasing 
power of gold by decreasing the value of all forms 
of property as well as human labor, and the supply 
of currency is purposely abridged to fatten usurers, 
bankrupt enterprise, and enslave industry. 

"A vast conspiracy against mankind has been 
organized on two continents, and it is rapidly tak- 
ing possession of the world. If not met and over- 
thrown at once it forbodes terrible social 
convulsions, the destruction of civilization, or the 
establishment of an absolute despotism. We have 
witnessed, for more than a quarter of a century, 
the struggles of the two great political parties for 
power and plunder, while grievous wrongs have 
been inflicted upon the suffering people. We 
charge that the controlling influences dominating 
both these parties have permitted the existing 
drsadful conditions to develop without serious 



2^8 HAND BOOK FOR 

effort to prevent or restrain them. Neither do they 
now promise us any substantial reform. They have 
agreed together to ignore, in the coming campaign, 
every issue but one. They propose to drown the 
outcries of a plundered people with the uproar of 
a sham battle over the tariff, so that capitalists, 
corporations, national banks, rings, trusts, watered 
stock, the demonetization of silver and the oppres- 
sions of the usurers may all be lost sight of. They 
propose to sacrifice our homes, lives and children, 
on the altar of mammon ; to destroy the multitude 
in order to secure corruption funds from the mil- 
lionaires. 

"Assembled on the anniversary of the birthday 
of the nation, and filled with the spirit of the grand 
general and chieftain who established our inde- 
pendence, we seek to restore the government of 
the Republic to the hands of the ' plain people * 
with whose class it originated. We assert our pur- 
poses to be identical with the purposes of the 
National Constitution, to form a more perfect 
union, and establish justice, insure domestic tran- 
quility, provide for the common defence, prom )te 
the general welfare, and secure the blessings of 
liberty for ourselves and our posterit3^ We declare 
that this Republic can only endure as a free gov- 
ernment while built upon the love of the whole 
people for each other and for the nation ; that it 
cannot |be pinned together by bayonets ; that the 
civil war is over, and that every passion and resent- 
ment which grew out of it must die with it, and 
that we must be in fact, as we are in name, one 
united brotherhood of freedom. 

" Our country finds itself confronted by condi- 
tions for which there is no precedent in the history 
of the world ; our annual agricultural productions 
amount to billions of dollars in value, which must 
within a few weeks or months be exchanged for 
billions of dollars' worth of commodities consumed 
in their production ; the existing currency supply 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 239 

is wliolly inadequate to make this exchange ; the 
results are falling prices, the formation of combines 
and rings, the impoverishment of the producing 
class. We pledge ourselves that, if given power, 
we will labor to correct these evils by wise and 
reasonable legislation, in accordance with the terms 
of our platform. We believe that the powers of 
government— in other words, of the people— should 
be expanded (as in the case of the postal service) 
as rapidly and as far as the good sense of an intelli- 
gent people and the teachings of experience shall 
justify, to the end that oppression, mjustice and 
poverty shall eventually cease in the land. 

•♦ While our sympathies as a party of reform are 
naturally upon the side of every proposition which 
will tend to make men intelligent, virtuous and 
temperate, we nevertheless regard these questions 
—important as they are— as secondary to the great 
issues now pressing for solution, and upon which 
not only our individual prosperity, but the very 
existence of free institutions depends ; and we ask 
all men to first help us to determine whether we are 
to have a Republic to administer, before we differ 
as to the conditions upon which it is to be adminis- 
tered ; believing that the forces of reform this day 
organized will never cease to move forward until 
every wrong is righted, and equal rights and equal 
privileges securely established for all the men and 
women of this country, we declare, therefore, 

"I. That the union of the labor forces of the 
United States th's day consummated shall be perma- 
nent and perpetual ; may its spirit enter into all 
hearts for the salvation of the Republic and the 
uplifting of mankind. 

"2. Wealth belongs to him who creates it, ana 
every dollar taken from industry without an equiv- 
alent is robberv. * If any will not work, neither 
shall he eat.' The interests of rural and civic labor 
are the same ; their enemies are identical. 

** 3. We believe that the time has come when the 



240 HAND BOOK FOR 

railroad corporations will either own the people or 
the people must own the railroads ; and should the 
government enter upon the work of owning and 
managing all railroads, we should favor an amend- 
ment to the Constitution by which all persons 
engaged in the government service shall be placed 
under a civil service regulation of the most rigid 
character, so as to prevent the increase of the 
power of the National Administration by the use 
of such additional government employees. 

Money. — " i. We demand a national currency, 
safe, sound and flexible, issued by the General 
Government only, a full legal tender for all debts, 
public and private, and that without the use of 
banking corporations; a just, equitable and effi- 
cient means of distribution direct to the people at 
a tax not to exceed 2 per cent per annum, to be 
provided as set forth in the sub-treasury plan of 
the Farmers' Alliance, or a better system ; also by 
payments in discharge of its obligations for public 
improvements. 

" a) We demand free and unlimited coinage of 
silver and gold at the present legal ratio of 16 to i. 

*' (^) We demand that the amount of circulating 
medium be speedily increased to not less than I50 
per capita. 

" {c) We demand a graduated income tax. 

" (af ) We believe that the money of the country 
should be kept as much as possible in the hands of 
the people, and hence we demand that all State 
and national revenues shall be limited to the neces- 
sary expenses of the government, economically 
and honestly administered, 

" {e) We demand that postal savings banks be 
established by the government for the safe deposit 
of the earnings of the people and to facilitate 
exchange. 

Transportation. — " 2. Transportation being a 
means of exchange and a public necessity, the 
government should own and operate the railroads 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 241 

in the interest of the people. The telegraph and 
telephone, like the post-ofi&ce system, being a 
necessity for the transmission of news, should be 
owned and operated by the government in the 
interests of the people. 

Land. — "3. The land, including all the natural 
sources of wealth, is the heritage of the people, and 
should not be monopolized for speculative pur- 
poses, and alien ownership of land should be 
prohibited. All land now held by railroads and 
other corporations in excess of their actual needs, 
and all lands now owned by aliens, should be re- 
claimed by the government and held for actual 
settlers only." 

The following supplementary resolutions, not to 
be incorporated in the platform, came from the 
Committee on Resolutions, and were adopted, as 
follows : 

"Whereas, Other questions having been pre- 
sented for our consideration, we hereby submit the 
following, not as a part of the Platform of the 
People's party, but as resolutions expressive of the 
sentiment of this convention : 

Elections. — " i. Resolved, That we demand a 
free ballot and pledge ourselves to secure it to 
every legal voter without federal intervention, 
through the adoption by the States of the unper- 
verted Australian or secret ballot system. 

Taxation. — "2. That the revenue derived from 
a graduated income tax should be applied to the 
reduction of the burden of taxation now resting 
upon the domestic industries of this country. 

Pensions. — "3. That we pledge our support to 
fair and liberal pensions to ex -Union soldiers and 
sailors. 

Immigration. — "4. That we condemn the fallacy 
of protecting American labor under the present 
system, which opens our ports to the pauper and 
criminal classes of the world, and crowds out our 
wage-earners ; aud we denounce the present in- 



242 HAND BOOK FOR 

effective laws against contract labor, and demand 
the further restriction of undesirable immigration. 

Eight-hour Law. — "5. That we cordially sym- 
pathize with the efforts of organized workingmen 
to shorten the hours of labor, and demand a rigid 
enforcement of the existing Eight-hour law on 
government work, and ask that a penalty clause 
be added to the said law. 

Pinkerto7i Men. — " 6. That we regard the main- 
tenance of a large standing army of mercenaries, 
known as the Pinkerton system, as a menace to 
our liberties, and we demand its abolition ; and we 
condemn the recent invasion of the Territory of 
Wyoming by the hired assassins of plutocracy, 
assisted by federal officials. 

Miscellaneous. — "7. That we commend to the 
favorable consideration of the people and to the 
reform press the legislative system known as the 
initiative and referendum. 

"8. That we favor a constitutional provision 
limiting the office of President and Vice-President 
to one term, and providing for the election of 
Senators of the United States by a direct vote of 
the people. 

' ' 9. That we oppose any subsidy or national aid 
to any private corporation for any purpose. 

*• 10. That this convention sympathizes with the 
Knights of Labor and their righteous contest with 
the tyrannical combine of clothing manufacturers 
of Rochester, and declares it to be the duty of all 
who hate tyranny and oppression to refuse to pur- 
chase the goods made by the said manufacturers, 
or to patronize any merchants who sell such 
goods. " 



The Prohibition Pi^atform. 

"The Prohibition party, in National convention 
assembled, acknowledging Almighty God as the 
source of all true government, and His law as the 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 243 

standard to which human enactments must conform 
to secure the blessings of peace and prosperity, 
presents the following declaration of principles : 

Liquor. — " i. The liquor traffic is a foe to civili- 
zation, the arch enemy of popular government, 
and a public nuisance. It is the citadel of the 
forces that corrupt politics, promote poverty and 
crime, degrade the nation's home life, thwart the 
will of the people, and deliver our country into the 
hands of rapacious class interests. All laws that, 
under the guise of regulation, legalize and protect 
this traffic or make the government share in its 
ill-gotten gains, are * vicious in principle and 
powerless as a remedy.* We declare anew for the 
entire suppression of the manufacture, sale, impor- 
tation, exportation and transportation of alcoholic 
liquors as a beverage by Federal and State legisla- 
tion, and the full powers of government should be 
exerted to secure this result. No party that fails 
to recognize the dominant nature of this issue in 
American politics is deserving of the support of 
the people. 

Woman Suffrage. — *'2. No citizen should be 
denied the right to vote on account of sex, and 
equal labor should receive equal wages, without 
regard to sex. 

Money. — "3. The money of the country should 
consist of gold, silver and paper, and be issued by 
the General Government only, and in sufficient 
quantity to meet the demands of business and give 
full opportunity for the employment of labor. To 
this end an increase in the volume of money is 
demanded. No individual or corporation should 
be allowed to make any profit through its issue. It 
should be made a legal tender for the payment of 
all debts, public and private. Its volume should 
be fixed at a definite sum fjer capita, and made to 
increase with our increase in population. 

Silver. — " 4. We favor the free and unlimited 
coinage of gold and silver. (This plank was 



244 HAND BOOK FOR 

stricken out by the convention by a vote of 335 for 
it to 596 against it.) 

Tariff. — "5. Tariff should be levied only as a 
defence against foreign governments which levy 
tarifif upon or bar out our products from their mar- 
kets, revenues being incidental. The residue of 
means necessary to an economical administration 
of the government should be raised by levying a 
burden on what the people possess, instead of upon 
what they consume. 

Corporations. — *• 6. Railroad, telegraph and 
other public corporations should be controlled by 
the government in the interest of the people, and 
no higher charges allowed than necessary to give 
fair interest on the capital actually invested. 

Immigration and Naturalization. — "7. Foreign 
immigration has become a burden upon industry, 
one of the factors in depressing wages and causing 
discontent ; therefore our immigration laws should 
be revised and strictly enforced. The time of resi- 
dence for naturalization should be extended, and 
no naturalized person should be allowed to vote 
until one year after he becomes a citizen. 

Land. — "8. Non-resident aliens should not be 
allowed to acquire land in this country, and we 
favor the limitation of individual and corporate 
ownership of land. All unearned grants of lands 
to railroad companies or other corporations should 
be reclaimed. 

Mob Law. — " 9. Years of inaction and treachery 
on the part of the Republican and Democratic par- 
ties have resulted in the present reign of mob law, 
and we demand that every citizen be protected in 
the right of trial by constitutional tribunals. 

Miscellaneous. — ** 10. All men should be pro- 
tected by law in their right to one day of rest in 
seven. 

*'ii. Arbitration is the wisest and most economi- 
cal and humane method of settling national dif- 
ferences. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 245 

" 12. Speculations in margins, the cornering of 
grain, money and products, and the formation of 
pools, trusts and combinations for the arbitrary 
advancement of prices should be suppressed. 

" 13. We pledge that the Prohibition party if 
elected to power will ever grant just pensions to 
disabled veterans of the Union Army and Navy, 
their widows and orphans. 

"14. We stand unequivocally for the American 
public school, and opposed to any appropriation of 
public moneys for sectarian schools. We declare 
that only by united support of such common 
schools, taught in the English language, can we 
hope to become and remain a homogeneous and 
harmonious people. 

Repicblicans and Democrats . — "15. We arraign 
the Republican and Democratic parties as false to 
the standards reared by their founders ; as faithless 
to the principles of the illustrious leaders of the 
past to whom they do homage with the lips ; as 
recreant to the * higher law, ' which is as inflexible 
in political affairs as in personal life, and as no 
longer embodying the aspirations of the American 
people, or inviting the confidence of enlightened, 
progressive patriotism. Their protest against the 
admission of * moral issues ' into politics is a con- 
fession of their own moral degeneracy. The decla- 
ration of an eminent authority that municipal mis- 
rule is * the one conspicuous failure of American 
politics,' follows as a natural consequence of such 
degeneracy, and it is true alike of cities under Re- 
publican and Democratic control. Each accuses 
the other of extravagance in Congressional appro- 
priations and both are alike guilty ; each protests 
when out of power against infraction of the civil 
service laws, and each when in power violates those 
laws in letter and in spirit ; each professes fealty to 
the interests of the toiling masses, but both covertly 
truckle to the money power in their administration 
of public affairs. Even the tariff issue, as repre- 



246 HAND BOOK FOR 

sented in the Democratic Mills bill and the Repub- 
lican McKinley bill, is no longer treated by them 
as an issue between great and divergent principles 
of government, but is a mere catering to different 
sectional and class interests. The attempt in many 
States to wrest the Australian ballot system from 
its true purpose, and to so deform it as to render it 
extremely difficult for new parties to exercise the 
rights of suffrage, is an outrage upon popular gov- 
ernment. The competition of both these parties 
for the vote of the slums, and their assiduous court- 
ing of the liquor power and subserviency to the 
money power, have resulted in placing those pow- 
ers in the position of practical arbiters of the 
destinies of the Nation. We renew our protest 
against these perilous tendencies, and invite all 
citizens to join us in the upbuilding of a party that 
has shown in five national campaigns that it pre- 
fers temporary defeat to an abandonment of the 
claims of justice, sobriety, personal rights and the 
protection of American homes. 

Prohibitio7i. — " i6. Recognizing and declaring 
that prohibition of the liquor traffic has become the 
dominant issue in national politics, we invite to 
full party fellowship all those who on this one 
dominant issue are with us agreed, in the full 
belief that this party can and will remove sectional 
differences, promote national unity, and insure the 
best welfare of our entire laud." 

For the third resolution a minority report favored 
" the issue of legal-tender Treasury notes, exchange- 
able in gold or silver bullion, on a plan similar to 
that which now floats ^340,000,000 of greenbacks 
on |; 100, 000,000 of gold reserve and makes them 
more acceptable and convenient than either gold or 
silver coin." This was defeated on a rising vote — 
yeas 316, nays 337. 

For the fifth resolution, the minoritj' reported a 
substitute declaring that the tariff should be so 
levied as to furnish revenue for the needs of the 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 247 

government economically administered, relieving 
necessities used by the mass of the people, and for 
the benefit of labor, protecting American produc- 
tions and manufactures against the competition of 
foreign nations, and suggesting the appointment of 
a tariff commission to recommend to Congress 
duties to meet the wants of the government, so 
graduated as to protect American skill and labor 
against the competition of the world. This was 
defeated by a large vote. 

The sixteenth resolution was reported by a 
minority of the Committee on Resolutions. After 
animated debate it was defeated, its friends being 
unable to rally the 200 votes necessary to order a 
vote by States. Subsequently it was taken from 
the table, and by a rising vote added to the Plat- 
form ; which, with the fourth paragraph out, was 
then adopted, as reported by James Black, chair- 
man of the committee. 

During the proceedings, on motion of a delegate 
from Virginia, speakers were requested to refrain 
from unnecessary references or illustrations which 
"could be considered as a reflection on participants 
in the war of the rebellion." 



248 HAND BOOK FOR 

Part XIII. 

THE PENSION ROLIv. 

The all-sufficient warrant for a just and liberal 
policy toward the survivors of the war for the 
Union, and the widows and children of those who 
have passed away is contained in almost the dying 
words of Abraham Lincoln, in his inaugural ad- 
dress, March 5, 1865 — "With malice toward none, 
with charity for all, with firmness" in the right^'as 
Qod gives us to see the right, let us strive to finish 
the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds ; 
to care for him who shall have borne the battle, 
and for his widows and orphans ; to do all which 
may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace 
among ourselves and with all nations." The 
United States has dealt generously with the Union 
veterans of the great struggle upon the result of 
which depended the destinies, not of this nation 
only, but of mankind, and if the cost of this 
generosity is tremendous, it should not be forgotten, 
that the conflict was the most tremendous of 
modem times. The principle of granting pensions 
to the survivors of a war whether they were injured 
or not is not new in American history. In 1818 — 
thirty-five years after the w^ar of the revolution — 
pensions were granted to all the survivors of the 
war who for any reason stood in need of pecuniary 
assistance. In those days there were not lacking 
men who outpoured abuse and contempt on the 
soldiers of the Republic, but the heart of the peo- 
ple beat responsive then as it does now to valor, 
patriotism and truth. I read from a publication of 
181 7, now before me: "The Diomedes and Sar- 
pedons of our history remain within our view until 
the streams of dotage flow from their eyes, and the 
weakness of second childhood succeeds to the 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 249 

firmness of early manhood. Posterity -will see 
better because they will not see so much, and will 
wonder at the coldness and indifference with which 
we regard the revolution independent of its con- 
sequences. " And thus it will be with the civil war. 
Honors will not be lacking when the grave will 
have closed over the last of the brave men who 
followed Sherman and Grant. 

The pension money is much more widely dis- 
tributed among the States than might be supposed. 
The Southern and border States have no small 
share of it. Missouri receives nearly two millions 
of dollars more than Massachusetts, and Virginia 
more than Connecticut. Texas, another State 
whose people went with the Confederacy, receives 
nearly twice as much pension money as Oregon — a 
fact due, no doubt, in a large degree to Northern 
immigration. Arkansas, one of the States of the 
Confederacy, closely approaches Vermont on the 
pension roll, and Kentucky, which earned again 
during the war the title of the "dark and bloody 
ground, ' ' is high in the list of pension beneficiaries. 
The following, from the latest accessible report of 
the Commissioner of Pensions, shows where the 
pension money goes within the United States : 

UNITED STATES. NO. AMOUNT. 

Alabama 3,648 1^341,458 62 

Alaska Territory 24 2,743 57 

Arizona Territory 592 81,899 06 

Arkansas 10,160 1,393,25496 

California 13,603 1,869,533 10 

Colorado 6,342 870,528 90 

Connecticut li>5o3 1,170,757 75 

Delaware ........... 2,781 437,846 43 

District of Columbia 8,582 1,440,979 79 

Florida 2,851 422,553 24 

Georgia 3,621 511,270 71 

Idaho 924 124,434 58 

Illinois 69,095 10,299,400 09 



250 HAND BOOK FOR 

UNITED STATES. KO. AMOUNT. 

Indiana 7o>34i io>84i,565 80 

Indian Territory 2,593 328,213 n 

Iowa 38,495 5*760,363 95 

Kansas 43.530 6,048,592 44 

Kentucky 29,582 4,313,043 17 

Louisiana 4,361 592,079 99 

Maine 20,385 3.047,273 37 

Maryland . . I3>035 1,666,294 83 

Massachusetts 39,607 5,948,985 49 

Michigan 46,371 7,2i8,9.;3 80 

Minnesota 16,633 2,353,450 35 

Mississippi . , 3*987 49S,6io 46 

Missouri 54,179 7.603,813 31 

Montana 1,249 165,667 69 

Nebraska 18,577 2,730,019 98 

Nevada 203 27,273 84 

New Hampshire 9,485 1,413,725 25 

New Jersey 19,675 2,608,215 84 

New Mexico Territory .... 1,283 179,573 55 

New York 89,642 11,937,643 43 

North Carolina 4,904 572 334 40 

North Dakota 1,597 186,761 55 

Ohio 99,837 14,737,191 54 

Oklahoma Territory 5,176 684,8^5 85 

Oregon 4,423 597,395 28 

Pennsylvania 89,378 13,574,346 36 

Rhode Island 4,160 418,923 86 

South Carolina 1,668 223,742 40 

South Dakota 5,290 750,983 64 

Tennessee 16,815 2,658,725 63 

Texas 7,758 1,030,282 82 

Utah Territory 734 105,768 80 

Vermont 9,931 1,529,333 24 

Virginia 8,036 1,204,925 27 

Washington 5,456 733,294 52 

West Virginia 14,947 2,159,023 t;;^ 

Wisconsin 28,516 4,019,524 68- 

Wyoming 682 92,614 60 

Total in States and Territories, 965,947 ;pi39. 530,058 22 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 231 



Part XIV. 

IMPORTANT EVENTS IN AMERICAN HIS- 
TORY. 

1606. A charter granted to a company in England 
for the settlement of Virginia, and a colony 
dispatched, who landed at Jamestown, and chose 
Edward Wingfield ruler. 

1607. Soon after their arrival, Captain John Smith 
and others visited the native chief, Powhatan, at 
his principal residence, near the present site of 
Richmond.— Wingfield was deposed, and Smith 
appointed in his place ; but he was soon after cap- 
tured by the Indians, and detained among them 
for some time. He was about to be slain by the 
savages, when Pocahontas, a favorite daughter of 
Powhatan's, rushed between him and the clubs of 
his enemies, and finally saved his life. 

1608. When Smith returned he found the colonists 
in a very bad condition ; after alleviating it as far 
as practicable, he explored the Chesapeake Bay 
and its tributary rivers. 

1609. A new charter granted to the London Com- 
pany enlarging their limits, etc., and Lord De la 
War appointed governor for life. 

16 ro. In consequence of being injured by an explo- 
sion of powdor, Captain Smith returned to Eng- 
land, delegating his authority to George Percy.— 
Lord De la War arrived just as the colonists were 
about leaving for England, after having greatly 
suffered from disease and famine.— A few Dutch 
traders settled in New Amsterdam, now New 
York City. 

161 [. Under the new Governor order and content- 
ment were again restored ; but his health rapidly 
failing he returned home, and Percy again 
administered the government until the arrival 



252 HAND BOOK FOR 

of Sir Thomas Daly, by whom he was super* 
seded. 

1612. The king granted the London Company 
another new charter, making important changes 
in the powers of the corporation, but not affect- 
ing the political rights of the colonists. 

1613. John Rolfe, a young English officer, married 
Pocahontas, an event which had a beneficial in- 
fluence on the relations of the colonists and 
Indians. 

1614-16. Governor Dale returned to England, after 
appointing George Yeardley in his place. The 
culture of tobacco was introduced and soon be- 
came, not only the principal article of export, 
but even the currency of the colony. The Dutch 
began a settlement in Albany, N. Y. 

16 1 7. Yeardley was displaced for a short time by 
Argall, who ruled with such tyranny and injus- 
tice as led to the reinstatement of the former, 

1619. The first colonial assembly ever convened in 
America was held at Jamestown. 

1620. In August a Dutch man-of-war landed twenty 
negroes for sale at Jamestown, which was the 
commencement of negro slavery in the colonies. 
— Ninety young women of respectable character 
were sent from England as wives for the colon- 
ists, the prices for whom were fixed at from 120 
to 150 pounds of tobacco. — December 21st a body 
of Puritans, dissenters from the Church of Eng- 
land, landed at Plymouth, and commenced the 
settlement of New England. 

1621. The Loudon Company granted to the Vir- 
ginia colony a written constitution. — A treaty of 
friendship was concluded between the Puritans 
and the principal chief of the Massachusetts 
tribe (Massasoit), and similar treaties concluded 
with other chiefs. 

1622. April 1st, 347 men, women and children of 
the Virginia colony were savagely butchered by 
treacherous Indians ; but Jamebtown and the 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 253 

neighboring settlements were saved by the plot 
being revealed the evening before its intended 
consummation by a friendly Indian, thus put- 
ting the inhabitants on their guard. 

1623. Miles Standish saves the settlement of Wey- 
mouth, Mass., from destruction by the Indians, 
and kills their chief. — First settlement formed at 
Dover, New Hampshire. 

1624. The IvOndon Company was dissolved, and 
King James assumed the government of the Vir- 
ginia colony. — New Jersey settled by the Dutch. 

1627. Delaware settled by Swedes and Danes. 
1O35. Maryland settled by Irish Catholics, and 

Connecticut settled by. a branch of Puritans from 

Massachusetts. 

1636. Rhode Island settled by Roger Williams, 
wl;o was banished for his liberal religious senti- 
ments by the Puritans of Massachusetts. 

1637. The magistrates of the three infant towns of 
Connecticut — Windsor, Hartford and Wethers- 
field — formally declared war against the Pequod 
Indians. 

1643. The colonies of Massachusetts, Connecticut, 
Plymouth and New Haven, form themselves into 
one confederacy, by the name of " United Colon- 
ies of New England." 

1644. Another Indian massacre in Virginia, fol- 
lowed by a border warfare, which continued 
about two years. 

1648. An indi^ddual accused of witchcraft was exe- 
cuted at Charlestown, and for several years after 
(until 1793) numerous others suffered imprison- 
ment and death for the like alleged crime. 

1650. North Carolina settled by the English. 

1656. First arrival of Quakers in Massachusetts, 
who were sent back to England in the vessels 
in which they came, and the four united colonies 
concurred in a law prohibiting their introduction ; 
notwithstanding all which they continued to 
arrive. 



254 HAND BOOK FOR 

1658. By advice of commissioners of the four 
colonies, the legislature of Massachusetts de- 
nounced the punishment of death upon all 
Quakers returning from banishment, 

1660. Sir William Berkely elected governor bj 
the people of Virginia, but he afterwards dis- 
claimed the authority to which he owed his ele- 
vation, and issued writs for an assembly in the 
name of King Charles II. 

1661. Edward Whalley and William Goffe, two of 
the judges who had condemned Charles I. to 
death, arrived at Boston, and were kindly re- 
ceived by the people. Messengers were sent to 
arrest them, but they were concealed and ended 
their days in New England. 

1663. North Carolina settled by colonists from 
Virginia, near the village of Edenton. 

1664. An English force, sent to take possession of 
the whole territory from the Connecticut River 
to the shores of the Delaware, captured **Ne-vr 
Amsterdam" from the Dutch, and changed its 
name to " New York." 

1670. South Carolina settled by the Huguenots. 

1673. The Virginians remonstrated against the 
unjust taxation on their commercial business, 
but obtained no redress. — The Episcopal Church 
became the religion of the State.* A war having 
broke out between England and Holland, the 
Dutch reconquered New York, but it was again 
surrendered to the English the year following. 

1675. The war with the Wampanoags and other 
tribes, commonly called "King Philip's War," 
commenced, and was marked by much barbarity. 

1676. King Phillip was shot by a faithless Indian 
of his own tribe, but this did not er:d the war, 
which was continued till 1678, when a treaty of 
peace was concluded. — The people of Virginia, 
led by Nathaniel Bacon, took up arms in defence 
of their rights. 

1677. Massachusetts purchased the province of 
Maine from the heirs of Gorges. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 255 

1680 New Hampshire was separated from Massa- 
chusetts by a royal commission, and made a 
royal province ; but the first law adopted by the 
legislature, which soon after met at Portsmouth, 
declared "That no act, imposition, law, or ordi- 
nance, should be made or imposed upon them 
but such as should be made by the assembly, 
and approved by the President and Council." 

1682. Pennsylvania settled by Wm. Penn, who 
founded Philadelphia the year following. 

1686. The charter government of Massachusetts 
was revoked, and the king appointed a president 
over the country from Narragansett to Nova 

Scotia. , -, ' 4.x. 

1687 Governor Andros attempted to reclaim the 
charter granted to Connecticut, but it was 
secretly taken from the assembly chamber at 
Hartford by Captain Wadsworth while the sub- 
ject was under discussion and hidden in a hollow 
tree since celebrated as the Charter Oak, which 
was an object of curiosity until 1856, when it was 
blown down. . , ^ . 

1689 "King William's War" with Prance began, 
and was continued till 1697, during which all the 
English colonies suffered by ravages of the 
French and Indians. 
1690. The people of New Hampshire took the 
government into their own hands, and placed 
themselves under the protection of Massachu- 
setts.— The conquest of Canada was undertaken 
by the people of New England and New York 
acting m concert. An armament, under Sir 
William Phipps, made an unsuccessful demon- 
stration against Quebec, and then returned to 
Boston. The first emission of bills of credit m 
the colonies was made by Massachusetts to defray 
the expenses of this expedition. ^ 

1701. *' Queen Anne's War," waged against France 
and Spain, was commenced this year, and only 
termin£.ted in 1713 by the treaty of Utrecht. 



256 HAND BOOK FOR 

1733- Georgia settled by Gen. Oglethorpe, -who 
landed at Savannah with about 120 emigrants, 
and began building the town. 

1741. A supposed negro plot occasioned great ex- 
citement in the City of New York, and between 
30 and 40 persons were executed before it sub- 
sided. — The provinces of Massachusetts and New 
Hampshire were separated. 

1744. "King George's War," which originated 
in European disputes relative to Austria, again 
gave the French and Indians many opportunities 
of harassing the colonists. The most important 
event of the war in America was the siege and 
capture of Louisburg, which was restored to 
France in 1748 by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. 

1754. "The French and Indian War," arising 
from disputed claims to American territory by 
the English and French, again plunged the 
colonies jn difficulties, and materially injured 
their prosperity, until 1763, when peace was con- 
cluded. 

1759. Quebec surrendered to the English forces 
under Gen. Wolfe, who was killed on the battle- 
field, and all the other French posts in Canada 
were captured soon after. 

1764. A resolution imposing certain stamp duties 
on the colonies was adopted by the House of 
Commons, but it did not become a law till next 
year. 

1765. A general indignation spread through the 
colonies when it was known that the ' ' Stamp 
Act'* had passed. At Boston and Philadelphia 
the bells were muffled, and rung a funeral peal ; 
and at New York the Act was carried through 
the streets, with a death's-head affixed to it, and 
styled "The folly of England and the ruin of 
America." The stamps themselves, in many 
places, were seized and destroyed, and the doc- 
trine that England had no right to tax America 
was boldly avowed. — The; First Coloniai* 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 257 

Congress met in New York, nine colonies being 
represented, and agreed on a *' Declaration of 
Rights," and other energetic measures. 

1766. The Stamp Act was repealed through the 
exertions of Mr. Pitt. 

1767. Parliament passed a bill imposing a duty on 
glass, paper, painters* colors, and tea, which 
occasioned as much excitement as the Stamp Act, 
and the colonial assemblies adopted spirited reso- 
lutions for resisting its operation. 

1768. A vessel was seized by the custom house 
officers in Boston for violating some of the odious 
commercial restrictions, but the people compelled 
them to abandon their prize, and seek refuge in 
Castle William. 

1770. In March, an affray occurred in Boston be- 
tween some citizens and the soldiers stationed 
there which produced a great sensation through- 
out A^merica.— Parliament passed a bill repeaUng 
all duties imposed by the Act of 1767, except that 
on tea, which they allowed the British East India 
Company to export to America, free from the 
duties which they had before paid in England. ^ 

1773. The ports of New York and Philadelphia 
were closed against vessels having cargoes of 
tea, and they were compelled to return to Eng- 
land. At Boston, a party of men, disguised as 
Indians, boarded several vessels, and broke open 
342 chests of tea, which they emptied into the 
harbor in the presence of thousands of spectators. 

1774. Parliament passed the Boston Port Bill, which 
forbade the landing and shipping goods, wares, 
and merchandise at Boston. The provincial as- 
sembly resolved that "the impolicy, injustice, 
inhumanity and cruelty of the act exceeded all 
their powers of expression. 

1775. An oppressive bill was passed by Parliament, 
restricting the commerce of all the provinces, 
except New York and North Carolina. The in- 
habitants of Massachusetts were declared rebels. 



258 HAND BOOK FOR 

and 10,000 troops were ordered to America, to 
aid in reducing the rebellious colonies. — April 
19. The first blood in the cause of independence 
was shed at Lexington, about ten miles from 
Boston, where a party of militia intercepted 
a division of English soldiers on their way to 
Concord for the purpose of destroying some mili- 
tary stores which the people had collected there. 
At Concord, a smart skirmish took place, and 
the British made a hasty retreat, after partially 
accomplishing their object. — May 10. The Con- 
tinental Congress assembled at Philadelphia, 
and, after electing John Hancock president of the 
body, among other important measures, voted to 
raise an army of 20,000 men. — June 17. A san- 
guinary battle took place on Breed's Hill (gener- 
ally now regarded as Bunker Hill) in which the 
British were severely cut up, but they finally 
gained possession of the hill, the Americans re- 
tiring across Charlestown Neck with inconsider- 
able loss. — July 12. Washington having been 
appointed commander-in-chief, arrived at Cam- 
bridge, and entered upon his duties. — Georgia 
joined the confederation ; after which, the style 
of the " Thirteen United Colonies " was adopted. 
— An unsuccessful attempt was made by the 
Americans for the conquest of Canada, in which 
Gen. Montgomerj'- was killed during an assault 
©n Quebec (Dec. 31), and a portion of his troops 
were taken prisoners. 
1776. March 4. Gen. Washington gained possession 
of Dorchester Heights, and the British left Bos- 
ton on the 17th. — June 18. Canada evacuated by 
the Americans. — July 4. The Deci^aration op 
Independence, by the Continental Congress at 
Philadelphia, was proclaimed, and hailed with 
great rejoicings. — August 27. Battle of I^ong 
Island, in which the Americans were defeated, 
but Washington made an admirable retreat to 
New York on the 29tli, and thence across Jersej 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 259 

to Philadelpliia, where Congress was in session. 
— Bee. 12. Congress adjourned to Baltimore, and 
soon after invested Washington with almost un- 
limited powers. — Dec. 26. Washington having 
amid great perils recrossed the Delaware on the 
previous night, surprised and captured a large 
body of Hessians at Trenton, and returned to 
Pennsylvania with his prisoners. — Dec. 28. Wash- 
ington took post at Trenton. 
1777. Jan. 3. Finding himself nearly surrounded 
by a force far superior to his own, Washington 
kindled his camp-fires as usual to deceive the 
enemy, and then by a circuitous route rapidly 
advanced upon Princeton, where he gained 
another important victory. — In^ the spring, the 
Marquis de la Fayette arrived in America from 
France, having fitted out a vessel at his own ex- 
pense, and enlisted as a volunteer in the army 
of Washington declining'all pay for his services ; 
but Congress, which had returned to Philadel- 
phia, soon after appointed him a Major-General. 
— May 6. Gen. Burgoyne, w^ith a powerful force, 
designed to invade the States by the way of Lake 
Champlain and the Hudson, arrived at Quebec; 
and on the i6th of June he left St. Johns for 
Crown Point, where he established magazines. — 
June 30. The British army, under Gen. Howe, 
passed over to Staten Island, leaving Washing- 
ton in possession of New Jersey.— J liy 5. Gen. 
St. Clair abandoned Ticonderoga, retreating 
before Burgoyne's forces, with whom he had a 
severe skirmish at Hubbardton, and finally suc- 
ceeded in joining Gen. Schuyler on the Hudson, 
having lost 200 pieces of artillery and a large 
quantity of stores. — July 10. Cok Barton, with 
about forty militia, seized the Commander of the 
English forces in Rhode Island (Major-General 
Prescott) while in bed, and conducted him safely 
through his own troops and fleet back to the 
mainland. This heroic exploit not only cheered 



260, HAND BOOK FOR 

the American army, but secured an officer of 
equal rank to exchange for Gen. Lee. — August 
16. — Battle of Bennington, in which the Ameri- 
cans, led by Col. Stark, obtained au important 
victory over Col. Baum, who had been sent by 
Gen. Burgoyne to seize some stores at that place. 
— Sept. II. Battle of the Brandy wine, in which 
Count Pulaski, a brave Polander, who had mag- 
nanimously joined the Americans, distinguished 
himself, and was soon after promoted to the rank 
of brigadier, with the command of the cavalry. 
Gen. Lafayette was severely wounded while en- 
deavoring to rally the fugitives. — Sept. 13. Bur- 
goyne crossed the Hudson with his whole army, 
and took a position on the heights and plains of 
Saratoga.— Sept. 26. The British army, under 
Gen. Howe, entered Philadelphia without 
further opposition. Congress having previously 
adjourned to Lancaster. — Oct. 4. Washington 
attacked alarge British force at Germantown.and 
was repulsed, with the loss of 1200 men in killed, 
wounded, and prisoners. — Oct. 17. Burgoyne, 
finding himself surrounded, and despairing of 
relief, surrendered his army to Gen. Gates, who 
had recently been appointed to the command of 
the Northern division, whereby the Americans 
acquired a fine train of brass artillery, 5000 
muskets, and immense quantities of other mu- 
nitions of war. — Oct. 22. A plan of confedera- 
tion was adopted by Congress, which, however, 
amounted to little more than a league of friend- 
ship between the States. — Dec. 11. Washington 
retired into winter-quarters at Valley Forge. 
1778. In February, Parliament passed two bills, 
virtually conceding all that had been the cause of 
controversy, and sent commissioners to adjust 
existing ^ differences ; they attempted to gain 
their objects by private intrigue and bribery, 
which coming to the knowledge of Congress, 
that body declared it incompatible with their 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 261 

honor to hold acy intercourse with them.— Feb. 
6. France acknowledged the independence of 
America, and concluded a treaty of alliance and 
commerce. —June 18. The British army evacuated 
Philadelphia, and retreated to New York, fol- 
k)wed cautiously by Washington with the main 
body of his army.— June 28. Battle of Mon- 
mouth, in which the British were signally ile- 
feated with great loss, and retreated to Sandy 
Hook, whence they were taken to New York by 
their fleet. — July 3. Wyoming was attacked by 
a large body of British, tories, and Indians, who, 
after the place had been surrendered, perpe- 
trated the most inhuman atrocities ; men, women 
and children were shut up in the houses and 
IwxTacks, and consumed in one general confla- 
gration. — Dec. 29. An English army of 2000 
men landed near Savannah, then defended by 
only 600 troops, and, after a severe battle, took 
possession of the city, tlie Americans retreating. 
1779. May II. Gen. Provost, with a large British 
force, having invested Charleston, summoned 
tke city to surrender ; but the approach of Gen. 
Ivincoln, who had been appointed to the com- 
mand of the Southern army, compelled him to 
retreat— July 5. Gen. Tryon made another 
descent on Connecticut, and plundered and 
burned the towns of New Haven, East Haven, 
Fairfield, and Norwalk. — July 16. Stony Point, 
which had been previously taken by the enemy, 
was gallantly lecaptured by Gen. Wayne, the 
British losing upward of 600 men in killed, 
wounded, and prisoners.— September 23. One of 
the most bloody battles on record was fought on 
the coast of Scotland between the American 
frigate Bon Homme Richard, Captain Paul Jones, 
and two British frigates, the Serapis and the 
Countess of Scarborough, which resulted in a 
victory for the Richard, which was so cut up 
that she soon after sank. Of a crew of 375, 300 



t62 HAND BOOK FOR 

were either killed or wounded.— October 9. After 
a month's siege, acombined attack of the French 
and Americans, under Count D'Estaing and Gen. 
Lincoln, was made on Savannah, but it proved 
unsuccessful, and Gen, Lincoln retired into 
South Carolina, while Count D'Estaing with- 
drew his fleet from the American coast. Count 
Pulaski was mortally wounded during the battle, 
and a monument has since been erected to his 
memory on the spot where he fell. 
1780. During the most of this year military opera- 
tions were confined to the Carolinas. — April 9. 
Admiral Arbuthnot, with a powerful fleet, which 
had transported Sir Henry Clinton with the 
bulk of his forces from New York to the South, 
anchored in Charleston harbor, and summoned 
the city to surrender. This was rejected, and 
General Lincoln and bis troops made a gallant 
defence, until May 12, when, most of the forti- 
fications having been beaten down, and the 
enemy being about to make an assault, a compli- 
ance was unavoidable, and the royal government 
was again established in South Carolina. — May 
12. Charleston surrendered after more than a 
month's siege. — ^July 10. A French squadron, 
under Admiral de Tern ay, arrived at Newport, 
having on board 6000 men, commanded by 
Count de Rochambeau. — August 16. Gen. Gates, 
who was advancing with a considerable force for 
the relief of the South, encountered the British, 
under Lords Rawdon and Cornwallis, near 
Camden, S. C, and after a desperate engage- 
ment, was compelled to draw off, with the loss 
of 1000 men, and all his artillery, ammunition 
wagons, and most of his baggage. Baron de 
Kalb, second in command, was mortally 
wounded, dying on the 19th. — September 23. 
Major Andre, adjutant-general of the British 
army, was arrested near Tarrytown, N. Y., by 
militiamen John Paulding, David Williams and 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 265 

Isaac Yan Wert. He was returning from a visit 
i?^« Arnold then in command of West 
Poi^ tn4 whom he had successfully negotiated 
Ke surrender of that post. He was soon 
after tried, convicted, and executed as a spy, 
whiL the traitor Arnold ^^ff^unatey escaped^ 
T^i^ititr allowed to write to Arnold, that officer 
nf rlurse f^und that his treason was discovered, 
fndTeclpra^ely fled on board the sloop-of-war 
vnitiirp then Iving in the Hudson. 
X7J1 TheWtorir,fold, as one of the reward^ of 

^ZTvCt^:XZ^S^^-oLis, and plunder- 
SfganlTstroyingUuc and private property 

to\ Tast -r/coT^Tariefon'-w^re s^^vSlly 
Tat^^kuSe^aSe-of^cX} s^^^^^^^^^^^ 
cans, under Gen. Morgan, and lost 300 m killed 

i4re^fXt^d%reTa^;^^^^^^ 
fede Gen. Gates in the South, arrived at Chemw, 
and took command of Morgan's divisiom- 
??\.o-h Tc Ten Greene encountered the army 
^fW^tomwalU^^^ Guilford Court House; 
hut neithe? party gained a decided advantage. 
^«d Greene Withdrew into South Carolina en- 
SmW on Hobkirk's Hill, about a mile from 
Cam^Si, whete Lord Rawdon was then posted 
-Aifril 25 Lord Rawdon made an attack on 
iobkkk's Hill, but with so little success that he 
foon after evacuated Camden and Retired be 
vond the Santee River.— October 8. The Amer 
fransand British, under Gen. Greene and Col. 
Stewat^ tnet at Eutaw Springs, and a sanguinary 
conflS: of nearly four hours ensuef ; jh^n 
Greene drew off his troops, and Stewart retired 
to Monk's Corner. -September 6. The traitor 



264 HAND BOOK FOR 

Arnold villainously burned New London, and 
destroyed much private and public property indis- 
criminately. — September 30. The combined 
American and French army, under Washington 
and Rochambeau suddenly appeared before 
Yorktown, where Cornwallis had concentrated 
his forces, and immediately commenced the con- 
struction of batteries and other works for the 
efifectual siege of that place. A French fleet 
commanded by Count de Grasse, had previously 
entered the Chesapeake, and, by blocking up 
James and York rivers, prevented the enemy's 
escape by sea. — October 19. Finding retreat im- 
possible, and resistance vain, Cornwallis surren- 
dered the post, and thus 7000 troops and the 
shipping in the harbor were secured to the victors, 
and the revolutionary struggle virtually ended. — 
December 12. A resolution passed the British 
House of Commons that those who should advise 
the king to continue the war in America, should 
be declared enemies of the sovereign and of the 
country. 

1782. The independence of America was acknowl- 
edged by Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, 
and Russia. — Early in May, Sir Guy Carleton, 
successor of Sir Henry Clinton as commander of 
all the forces in America, arrived in New York, 
with instructions to promote an accommodation 
with the United States, and of course there were 
no subsequent military operations of importance. 
— November 30. Preliminary articles of peace 
were signed at Paris by Mr. Oswald, commis- 
sioner on the part of Great Britain, and by Jobn 
Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay and Henry 
Laurens, on the part of the United States. 

1783. April 19. On the eighth anniversary of the 
battle of Lexington, a cessation of hostilities 
was proclaimed in the American army. — Sep- 
tember 3 Definitive treaties of peace were signed 
by the commissioners of England with those of 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 265 

the United States, France, Spain, and Holland. 
— iMovember 25. New York was evacuated by 
the British troops. — December 4. Washington 
took leave of the army, and the soldiers of the 
Revolution returned peaceably to their homes. 
— December 23. Washington resigned his com- 
mission into the hands of Congress, then sitting 
at Annapolis, Md., and retired to private life. 



Events Subsequent to Independence. 

1784. Nov. I. Congress convened at Trenton, 
N. J., but transacted little business of permanent 
importance. 

1785. June 2. John Adams, first Minister from the 
United States to Great Britain, had his first 
audience with the king. 

1786. Shay's Rebellion in Massachusetts and New 
Hampshire. 

1787. Sept. 17. The Constitution of the United 
States was adopted at Philadelphia. — Daniel 
Shay and his party dispersed by Gen. lyincoln. 

178S. Eleven States ratified the Constitution. — 
Election for President of the United States. 

1789. March 4. Congress assembled at New York, 
but did not organize till April 6. — April 30. 
George Washington was sworn into office as the 
first President, and John Adams as the first Vice- 
President of United States. 

1790. In May, Rhode Island acceded to the Con- 
stitution. — Sept. 30. Gen. Harmer defeated by 
the Indians near Chillicothe. — The first census 
completed, showing — population, 3,921,326 ; reve- 
nue 14,771,000; exports, ^19,000,000; imports, 
$20,000,000. 

1791. Vermont, having acceded to the Constitu- 
tion, was admitted into the Union. — The first 
United States Bank was chartered by Congress, 
but not without powerful opposition. 



266 HAND BOOK FOR 

1792. The Mint was established. — Kentucky ad- 
mitted into the Union. 

1793. April 22. President Washington issued a 
proclamation of neutrality in regard to the 
affairs of France, which were beginning to affect 
American politics. — Washington and Adams 
were re-elected. 

1794. Aug. 20. Gen, Wayne obtained so decisive a 
victory over the hostile Indians as to produce a 
salutarv effect upon all the tribes northwest of 
the Ohio. 

1795. Treaties were concluded with Spain and 
Algiers. 

1796. Sept. 17. Washington signified his intention 
to retire from public life, and published his 
Farewell Address. — Tennessee was admitted into 
the Union. 

1797. March 4. John Adams was inaugurated as 
President, and Thomas Jefferson, Vice-Pesident, 

1798. Congress again elected Gen. Washington 
commander in-chief of the army. 

1799. Dec. 14. Gen. Washington died at Mount 
Vernon, after a very short illness. 

1800. The seat of government was transferred to 
Washington City. — Sept. 30. A treaty was con- 
cluded with the French Directory. — President 
Adams signed the alien and sedition laws. 

18; )i. Thomas Jefferson was elected President, and 
Aaron Burr, Vice-President. — Congress declared 
was against Tripoli. — The second census was 
completed, and showed— population, 5,319,762; 
revenue, 112,945,000 ; exports, 194,000,000. 

180?. New Orleans was ceded by Spain to France, 
and the Mississippi closed against the United 
States. — Ohio admitted into the Union. 

1803. Louisiana was purchased of the French by 
the United States for ^15,000,000. — Com. Preble 
sailed with a squadron for Tripoli ; the frigate 
Philadelphia got around in the harbor, and was 
captured by the barbarians. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 267 

1804. Capt. Eaton was appointed navy agent for 
the Barbary powers. — L/ieut. (afterward Com.) 
Decatur recaptured and destroyed the frigate 
Philadelphia, under a terrific fire from the 
enemy's gnus. 

1805. Thomas Jefferson was re-elected President, 
and George Clinton Vice-President. — Peace was 
concluded with Tripoli, and 200 prisoners were 
given up to the United States. 

1806. England began to impress American seamen, 
on the plea of their having been born in that 
kingdom. — Nov. 21. Berlin decree issued by 
Bonaparte, crippling American commerce. 

1807. Aaron Burr, formerly Vice-President, was 
tried at Richmond for high treason, but was 
acquitted, owing to the insufficiency of evidence. 

1808. June 22. The American frigate Chesapeake 
was fired into by the British ship-of-war Leopard, 
for refusing to deliver up four men who were 
claimed as English subjects ; three men were 
killed and eighteen wounded. — In November, 
the British government issued the celebrated 
*' Orders in Council," prohibiting all trade with 
France and her allies ; and in December, Bona- 
parte issued the retaliatory " Milan decree," for- 
bidding all trade with England and her colonies. 
— Dec. 22. Congress decreed an embargo, the 
design of which was to retaliate on France and 
England for unjust commercial prohibitions. 

1809. March i. Congress repealed the embargo act, 
but at the same time interdicted all commercial 
intercourse with France or England. 

1810. In November, all the hostile decrees of the 
French were revoked, and commercial inter- 
course with the United States was resumed ; but 
those of England were not only continued, but 
ships of war were stationed near the principal 
American ports for the purpose of intercepting 
our merchantmen, which were captured, and sent 
to British ports as legal prizes. 



268 HAND BOOK FOR 

1811. May 16. The British ship-of-war Little Belt» 
Capt. Bingham, was hailed in the evening on the 
coast of Virginia by the U. vS frigate President, 
Capt. Rodgers, but instead of receiving a satis- 
factory answer, a shot was fired in return, when 
a brief engagement followed, in which eleven of 
the enemy were killed and twenty- one wounded. 
The President had only one man wounded. 

18 1 2. June 17. President Madison issued a proc- 
lamation of war against England, and exertions 
were immediately made to enlist 25,000 men, to 
raise 50,000 volunteers, and to call out 100 000 
militia, 

1814. In August, Washington City surrendered to a 
British army, who destroyed the capitol, Presi- 
dent's mansion, and many other valuable build- 
ings, etc. — Dec. 24. Treaty of peace with Great 
Britain concluded at Ghent. 

1815. Jan. 8. Battle of New Orleans, in which the 
British, under Sir E. Packenham were signally 
repulsed by the Americans, under Gen. Jackson. 

1816. In April, Congress chartered the U. S. Bank, 
with a capital of ^35,000,000 — Indiana admitted 
into the Union. — American Colonization Society 
formed. 

18 1 7. March 4. James Monroe and Daniel D. 
Tompkins were inaiigurated as President and 
Vice-President. — Mississippi admitted into the 
Union. 

1818. SeminolB War, in which Gen. Jackson 
obtained many important victories, and finally 
''conquered peace." — Jul}'^ 4. Ground first broken 
in New York for the Hudson and Erie Canal. — 
Illinois and 4,labama admitted into the Union. 

1819. Feb. 23. The FToridas ceded by Spain to the 
United States for ^5,000,000, which sum was to 
be paid to American citizens as indemnities for 
spoliations on their commerce during the Penin- 
sular war. 

1820. Maine and Missouri were admitted into the 
Union. — The Compromise Act passed, by which 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 269 

slavery was excluded from all territory lying 
north of 36° 30^ N. latitude. 

1821. James Monroe and Daniel D. Tompkins were 
re-elected President and Vice-President. 

1822. Ministers plenipotentiary sent to Mexico, 
Buenos Ayres, Colombia, and Chili.— Conven- 
tion of Navigation and Commerce between the 
United States and France.— Piracy was alarm- 
ingly prevalent in the West Indies. 

1824. Aug. 15. Gen. Lafayette arrived in New York 
from France, and spent the year in traveling 
through the country, being received at every 
place with great enthusiasm. 

1825. March 4. John Quincy Adams and John C. 
Calhoun inaugurated as President and Vice- 
President.— Sept. 7. Gen. Lafayette embarked 
for France in the frigate Brandywine, which had 
been fitted out expressly for his accomodation. 

1826. July 4. Semi-Centennial Anniversary of 
American Independence. —Remarkable coinci- 
dence in the death of John Adams and Thomas 
Jefferson, each on whom died that day. 

1829. March 4. Andrew Jackson and John C. Cal- 
houn inaugurated as President and Vice-Presi- 
dent— the latter re-elected. 

1832. The Sacs, Foxes, Winnebagoes, and some 
other Indian tribes, under the Chief Black Hawk, 
made war on the Northwestern frontier, but were 
soon brought to submission.— A convention in 
South Carolina threatened to dissolve the Union, 
but the President issued a proclamation (Dec. 12) 
which allayed all apprehension of trouble. 

1833. March 4. Andrew Jackson and Martin Van 
Buren were inaugurated as President and Vice- 
President— the former re-elected. — The public 
funds were removed from the U. S. Bank, which 
occasioned much excitement. 

1835. The Plorida War was commenced by Indian 
hostilities against the settlements.— Dec. 24. 
Major Dade and upward of 100 men were unex- 
pectedly attacked, and all savagely butchered, 



270 HAND BOOK FOR 

except four, who were so horribly mangled that 
the}' died soon afterward. On the same day, 
while Gen. Thompson and eight friends were 
dining together near Fort King, they were fired 
upon by a party of warriors under Osceola, and 
five out of the nine were killed and scalped. 
Gen. Thompson's body was pierced by fifteen 
bullets. 

1836. The Florida war was vigorously prosecuted 
by Generals Gaines, Clinch, Jesup, and Call, and 
several desperate battles were fought, but without 
any material advantage to the whites. — Arkansas 
was admitted into the Union, 

1837. March4. Great commercial distress prevailed, 
and nearly all the banks in the country suspended 
specie payments. — An extra session of Congress 
was held in September, but nothing was done, 
except authorizing the government to issue 
|io,ooo,ooo in Treasury notes. — Oct. 21. The In- 
dian chief Osceola was captured, and died the 
following January. — Michigan was admitted into- 
the Union. 

1840. General Macomb, who took command of the 
army in Florida (numbering about 9000), con- 
cluded a treaty of peace with several Indian 
chiefs. — The Independent Treasury Bill became 
a law. 

1841. March 4. William H. Harrison and John 
Tyler were inaugurated as President and Vice- 
President. — April 4. President Harrison died, and 
was succeeded by Mr. Tyler. — May 31. An extra 
session of Congress convened, but they did little^ 
except to pass the Bankrupt Bill. 

1842. A treaty adjusting the northeastern boundary 
of the United States concluded with Great 
Britain. 

1845. March 4. James K. Polk and GeorgeM. 
Dallas were inaugurated as President and Vice- 
Presiclent. — Texas was annexed to the United 

: States, and this led to a war with Mexico, which 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 271 

resulted in a series of brilliant victories, and 
in the extension of American territory on the 
Pacific Ocean. Florida was admitted into the 
Union. 

1846. Iowa was admitted into the Union. 

1847. Wisconsin was admitted into the Union. 

1849. March 4. Zachary Taylor and Millard Fill- 
more were inaugurated as President and Vice- 
President. 

1850. July 9. President Taylor died, after a very 
brief illness, and was succeeded by Mr. Fillmore. 
— Sept. 18. Fugitive Slave Law approved. — Cali- 
fornia admitted into the Union. 

1853. Franklin Pierce and William R. King, having 
been elected President and Vice-President, the 
former was duly inaugurated, but the latter, 
being absent in Cuba, whither he had gone for 
the benelit of his health, was not sworn into of- 
fice until some time in April. He did not live 
long after reaching home, and Jesse D. Bright, 
President of the Senate, assumed his office dur- 
ing the remainder of the term. 

1854. Congress passed an act to organize the Ter- 
ritories of Nebraska and Kansas, and also to re- 
peal the Missouri Compromise Act. 

1857. James Buchanan and John C. Breckinridge 
inaugurated as President and Vice-President of 
the United States. — A 5'ear of severe embarrass- 
ments and financial distress throughout the 
country. Nearly all the banks in the United 
States suspended specie payments, as in 1837, 
and many heavy failures occured. — Minnesota 
admitted into the Union. 

1858. Specie payments resumed. — Atlantic tele- 
graph laid. — Crystal Palace burned. 

1859. Oregon admitted into the Union. 

i860. May. Visit of the Ambassadors of the Jap- 
anese Government to the U. vS. 

June. Arrival of the steamship Great Eastern at 
New York. 



872 HAND BOOK FOR 

Kov. 8. The election of Abraham Lincoln and 
Hannibal Hamlin as President and Vice Presi- 
dent of the United States announced at Wash- 
ington. — 9-1 1. James Chesnut, Jr., and James H. 
Hammond, U. S. Senators from South Carolina, 
resigned their seats in the Senate. 

Dec. 3. The second session of the 36th Congress 
opened at Washington. — 10. U. S. House of Rep- 
resentatives appointed a Committee of 33 on the 
state of the Union. — Howell CobVj, of Georgia, 
Secretary U. S. Treasury, resigned his office. 
John A. Dix, of New York, appointed his sucess- 
or. — 14. Lewis Cass, of Michigan, Secretary of 
State, resigned. — 20. The South Carolina "Ordi- 
nance of Secession" passed. — 24. Resignation 
of the South Carolina Representatives in Con- 
gress. — -26. Major Anderson removed his com- 
mand from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter. — 
Messrs. Barnwell, Orr and Adams, Commission- 
ers appointed by South Carolina to treat with 
the Federal Government, arrived at Washing- 
ton. - 27. Captain N. L. Coste, U. S. R. service, 
in command of the cutter William Aiken, be- 
trayed his vessel into the hands of the State 
authorities of South Carolina. — 28. The palmetto 
flag raised over the custom-house and post office 
in Charleston, S. C, and Castle Pinckney and 
Fort Moultrie occupied by the South Carolina 
military. — 29. John B. Floyd resigned his position 
as Secretary of War. — 30. South Carolina troops 
take possession of the U. S. Arsenal at Charles- 
ton, containing many thousand stand of arms 
and valuable military stores. 

1861. Jan 3. Fort Pulaski, at Savannah, Ga., taken 
possession of by Georgia troops. — South Carolina 
Commissioners left Washington for Charleston, 
the President declining to receive any official 
communication from them. — 4. United States 
Arsenal at Mobile seized by secessionists. No 
defence. — Fort Morgan, at the entrance of 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 273 

Mobile Bay, taken by Alabama troops. — 8. Jacob 
Thompson resigned his place in the Cabinet as 
Secretary of the Interior. — United States sub- 
Treasury at Charleston seized. — 9. Mississippi 
Ordinance of Secession passed. — vSteamship Star 
of the West, with supplies for Fort Sumter, fired 
into from Morris Island and Fort Moultrie, and 
driven from Charleston harbor. — 11. Louisiana 
State troops, under Captain Bradford, took pos- 
session of the U. S. Marine hospital, two miles 
below New Orleans. — Florida Convention adopt- 
ed an Ordinance of Secession by a vote of 62 to 
7. — Alabama Convention adopted an Ordinance 
of Secession by a vote of 61 to 39. — 12. Fort Bar- 
rancas and the Navy Yard at Pensacola, Fla., 
seized by Southern troops. — 15. Col. Hayne, Com- 
missioner from South Carolina to Washington, 
demanded the withdrawal of the garrison of 
Fort Sumter. — U. S. coast survey schooner Dana 
seized by Florida State authorities. — 19. Conven- 
tion of Georgia adopted a secession ordinance by 
a vote of 208 to 89. — 21. Jefferson Davis, of Mis- 
sissippi, withdrew from U. S. Senate.— 24. U. S. 
arsenal at Augusta, Ga., surrendered to the State 
authorities. — 26. Louisiana State Convention 
passed an Ordinance of Secession by a vote of 
113 lo 17. — 29. U. S revenue cutter Robert Mc- 
Clelland, Captain Breshwood, surrendered to 
State of Louisiana — Secretary Dix's dispatch to 
Hemphill Jones at New Orleans, "If any one 
attempts to haul down the American flag shoot 
him on the spot." 31. South Carolina authori- 
ties offer to buy Fort Sumter. — U. S. branch 
mint and custom-house at New Orleans seized by 
State authorities. 
Feb. I. Texas Convention at Galveston passed an 
Ordinance of Secession, to be voted on by the 
people on the 23d of February, and to take effect 
March 2, — 8. Congress at Montgomery adopted 
a constitution for a provisional government. 



fl74 HAND BOOK POR 

Jefiferson Davis, President ; Alexander H. Ste- 
phens, Vice-President. — U. S. arsenal at Little 
Rock, Ark., with 9000 stand of arms and forty- 
cannon, etc., surrendered to State authorities. — 
13. The election of Lincoln and Hamlin, as 
President and Vice-President of the United States, 
formally declared in the Senate by John C. 
Breckinridge, Vice President. — 18. Jefferson 
Davis inaugurated President of the Southern 
Confederacy. — 23. U. S. property to a great 
amount, together with various army posts in 
Texas, surrendered to the Confederates by Gen- 
eral Twiggs. Property valued at ^1,500,000, be- 
sides buildings. — 27. Peace Convention ai Wash- 
ington submitted to the Senate a plan of adjust- 
ment of the national diflBculties, involving seven 
amendments to the Constitution. 

March i. General Twiggs expelled from the army 
of the United States. — 4. Abraham Lincoln inaug- 
urated sixteenth President of the United States, at 
Washington. A State Convention declared Texas 
out of the Union. — 5, Gen. P. T. Beauregard took 
command of the forces investing Fort Sumter, 
S. C. — 30. Mississippi State Convention ratified 
the constitution of the C. S. , by a vote of 78 to 7. 

April 3. South Carolina Convention ratified the 
constitution ot the C. S. , by a vote of 114 to 16. 
— 12. Attack on Fort Sumter. Reinforcement of 
Fort Pickens. — 14. Evacuation of Fort Sumter. 
President's proclamation, calling for 75,000 
volunteers to suppress insurrection, and also 
calling an extra session of U. S. Congress on 
July 4. — 16. The government of the Southern 
Confederacy call for 32,000 men. — New York 
Legislature appropriated |;3, 000, coo for war pur- 
poses. — 17. State Convention of Virginia, in secret 
session, passed an Ordinanceof Secession.— Sixth 
Massachusetts regiment, on its way to Washing- 
ton, attacked by a mob in Baltimore. — U. S. 
arsenal at Liberty, Mo., seized.— Steamship Star 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 275 

of the West, having been seized by secessionists, 
was taken into New Orleans. — The ports of South, 
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, 
Louisiana and Texas ordered to be blockaded by 
the President.— 21. Gosport Navy Yard, opposite 
Norfolk, Va., set on fire, and vessels scuttled and 
sunk, by U. S. officers in charge. — Philadelphia 
& Baltimore Railway taken possession of by U. S. 
Government. — 25. Gov. Letcher, of Virginia, by 
proclamation, transferred that commonwealth to 
the Southern Confederacy. — 26. Gov. Brown, of 
Georgia, by proclamation, prohibited the pay- 
ment of all debts to Northern creditors till the 
end of hostilities. — 27. The ports of Virginia and 
North Carolina were included in the blockade by 
the President. — 29. Secession defeated in Mary- 
land House of Delegates by a vote of 53 to I3. 
May 3. Gov. Jackson, of Missouri, in a message to 
the legislature, recommended arming the State, 
and a union of sympathy and destiny with the 
slaveholding States, — President Lincoln issued a 
proclamation calling into service 42,000 volun- 
teers for three years, and directing the increase 
of the regular army and navy of the United 
States. — Virginia admitted into the Southern 
Confederacy in secret session of Confederate 
Congress. — Police Commissioners of St. Louis^ 
Mo., demanded of Capt. Lyon the removal of 
U. S. troops from all places and buildings occu- 
pied by them in that city outside the arsenal 
grounds. — Confederate States* Congress recog- 
nized war with the United States, and authorized 
issue of letters of marque and reprisal. — Legisla- 
ture of Arkansas passed an unconditional Ordi- 
nance of Secession, 69 to i. — 7. League between 
Tennessee authorities and Confederate States. 
— 9. The Confederate Congress authorized Presi- 
dent Davis to raise such force for the war as he 
should deem expedient. — 10. Maj.-Gen. R. K. 
Lee appointed to command the Confederate 



276 HAND BOOK FOR 

forces in Virginia. — Maj-Gen. McClellaii ap- 
pointed to command the Department of Ohio. — • 
The President directed that all officers in the 
army should take anew the oath of allegiance to 
the United States. — The secession military, 
under Gen. Frost, at St. Louis, Mo, , surrendered 
to Capt. Ivyon, commanding U. S. forces. A 
inob assailed the U. S. military after the surren- 
der, and were fired on by them, and many killed 
and wounded. — 15. A proclamation of neutrality 
with respect to the civil war in the U. S. was 
issued by Queen Victoria, in which the subjects 
of Great Britain v/ere forbidden to take part in 
the contest, or endeavor to break a blockade 
" lawfully and effectually established." — 18. Ar- 
kansas admitted to the Southern Confederacy. — 
20. Seizure by the Government of principal 
telegraph offices throughout the free States, and 
of the accumulated dispatches for twelve months. 
— Ordinance of Secession passed by North 
Carolina State Convention. — 24. Assassination 
of Col. Ellsworth, at Alexandria, Va. 
June I. British Government prohibited U. S. and 
Confederate armed vessels from , bringing any 
prizes to British ports. — 3. Hon, Stephen A, 
Douglas died at Chicago. — 4. Chief Justice 
Taney protests against the suspension of the 
habeas CO rpushy the President. — 6, Gov, Pickens, 
of S. C, forbade the remittance of funds to 
Northern creditors. Vote of Tennessee in favor 
of secession. — 12. Gov. Jackson, of Missouri, 
issued a proclamation calling 50,000 State militia 
into service, to protect the "lives, liberty and 
property of the citizens of the State." — West 
Virginia State Convention resolved to elect loyal 
State officers. — Maryland election resulted in the 
triumph of all the Union candidates but Winter 
Davis. — 17. Western Virginia Convention unani- 
mously declared their independence of the 
Eastern section of the State. — 24. Secession of 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 277 

Tennessee proclaimed by Gov. Harris. Vote 104,- 
913 for. to 47,238 against.— 25. Virginia vote an- 
nounced to be 128,884 for, and 32,134 against 
/ secession.— Western Virginia government recog- 
nized by the President. 
July 10. Loan bill passed by House of Representa- 
tives» authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to 
borrow $250,000,000, redeemable m twenty years. 
—Bill authorizing $500,000,000 and 500,000 volun- 
teers to suppressthe rebellion, passed the Senate. 
—House of Representatives empowered the Pres- 
ident to close the ports of seceded States.— 
16. Bill authorizing the President to call out 
militia to suppress the rebellion, passed the 
House of Representatives, and the bill to accept 
services of 500,000 volunteers.- 19. The Captain- 
General of Cuba liberated all the vessels brought 
into Cuban ports by privateer Sumter as prizes.-- 
20. Confederate Congress met at Richmond, 
Va.— 21. Battle of Bull Run. Union defeat.— 
22 Briu-.-Gen. Beauregard promoted to the rank 
of* "General" iu the Confederate army, the 
highest grade.— 22. Maj.-Geu. McClellan as- 
sioned to command the Department of the 
pStomac— 30-31. Missouri State Convention 
abolished the State Legislature, declared the 
offices of Governor, Lieu.-Gov. and Sec. of State 
vacant, appointed special State officers, and 
provided for a special election by the people m 
Aug., 1862. 
186 1. August I. Lieut. -Col. Baylor, commanding 
the Confederate forces in Arizona, issued a 
proclamation taking possession of New Mexico, 
in the name of the Confederate States, declaring 
all Federal offices vacant, and appointing a 
secretary, attorney-general and other of&cers. — 
5. Election in Kentucky for members of the 
Le.<^islature, the returns showing a large Union 
majority.— 6. Adjournment sine die of Special 
Congress at Washington.— 10. Battle of Wilson's 



ajS HAND BOOK FOR 

Creek, Mo. Gen. Lyon, with 5200 men, was 
defeated by the combined forces of Gens. Price 
and McCulloch, 20,000. Gen. Lyon was killed. 
—12. C. J. Faulkner, ex-Minister of U. S. to 
France, arrested on a charge of treason. — 14. 
Gen. F'remont declares martial law in St. Louis, 
Mo. All loyal men notified by Jeff. Davis to 
leave the Confederate States in forty days, — 15. 
Proclamation of President Lincoln declaring 
•commercial intercourse with the eleven States in 
rebellion unlawful, excepting such parts thereof 
as have or may become restored to loyal govern- 
ment, and forfeiting all vessels therefrom or 
laound to the same after fifteen days. — 19. Pass- 
ports required, by notice from the Department of 
State, from all persons leaving or arriving within 
the United States. — 20. Gen. McClellan assumed 
<:ommand of the army of the Potomac. — 24. A 
portion of the Cherokee Indians made an alliance 
with the "Southern Confederacy." 

President Lincoln appoints 26 Sep. as a fast- 
day (12 Aug.). 

The Kentucky Legislature meets (2 Sep.); in 
the Senate the vote is 27 for Union and 11 for 
Secession ; in the House, 76 for Union and 24 
for Secession. 

The Confederate ironclad Merrimac makes its 
first appearance in sight of Fort Monroe (7 Oct.). 
The Confederate steamer Theodore, with Mason 
and Slidell on board, escapes from Charleston, 
S. C. 

Gen. Fremont and Secretary Cameron hold a 
conference. An attempt is made to burn the 
blockading fleet lying at the mouth of the Missis- 
sippi ; the Confederate ram is disabled. 

Secretary Seward sends a circular to the Gov- 
•ernors of States advising sea-coast and lake 
defences (14 Oct.). 

The second naval expedition, consisting of So 
vessels and 15,000 men, sails from Fortress 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 279 

Monroe (29 Oct.); The naval forces are under 
Commodore Dupont ; the land forces under Gen. 
Sherman. 

Lieut. -Gen. Scott resigns as Commander-in- 
Chief of the armies of the U. S. (31 Oct.); Gen. 
McClellan is appointed in his place ( i Nov. ) . 

A party in Missouri pass an ordinance of 
Secession (2 Nov.). 

Maj.-Gen. Fremont is removed from his com- 
mand (2 Nov.), and is succeeded by Gen. Hunter 
in the command of the Western Department. 
Gen. Fremont returns to St. Louis, and is received 
there with the most enthusiastic tokens of regard. 

Captain Wilkes, of the U. S. Navy, on the San 
Jacinto, stops the British mail-steamer Trent, 
and takes off Mason and Shdell, the Confederate 
Commissioners, as prisoners (8 Nov.), and takes 
them to Boston (19 Nov.) 

The Confederate Congress meets at Richmond 
(18 Nov.). 

Mason and SHdell are placed in Fort Warren 
(24 Nov.). 

A party in Kentucky pass an ordmance of 
Secession (30 Nov.). 

Gen. McClellan directs the observance of the 
Sabbath in all the camps of the U. S. Army 
{30 Nov.). 

Lord Lyons, the British Minister at Washing- 
ton, is instructed by the British Government 
(30 Nov.) to leave America in 7 days, unless the 
U. S. Government consent to the unconditional 
liberation of Mason and Slidell. 

Jefferson Davis is elected President of the Con- 
federate States for six years (30 Nov.). 

Congress votes thanks to Capt. Wilkes for 
capturing Mason and Slidell (2 Dec); the 
foreign envoys at Washington protest against 
this act (3 Dec). 

News comes from England of a strong feeling 
concerning the arrest of Mason and Slidell (15 



28o HAND BOOK FOR 

Dec); tlie attitude assumed is threatening; 
troops are sent to Canada by the British Govern- 
ment as a precaution against military trouble. 

Mason and Slidell are surrendered to the British 
Minister, Lord Lyons (27 Dec). 

Banks in New York and elsewhere suspend cash 
payments (30 Dec). 

The national expenses of the j-ear are $85 387- 
313; the debt is $90,867,828; the imports are 
^345,650,153 ; and the exports, $228,699,486. 
1862. Mason and Slidell leave Fort Warren and 
sail for England on the British steamer Rinaldo 
(I Jan.). 

Waldo P. Johnson and Trustan Polk, of Mis- 
souri, are expelled from the J-'enate (10 Jan.). 

Simon Cameron resigns his position as Secre- 
tary of War (11 Jan.); E. M. Stanton is appointed 
in his place. 

The Federal Government decides that the crews 
of all captured privateers are to be regarded as 
prisoners of war (3 Feb.). The Confederate 
steamer Nashville is ordered to leave Southamp- 
ton harbor, Eng.; the U. S. steamer Tuscarora en- 
deavors to follow, but is stopped by an English 
frigate 

Commodore Foote, with 7 gunboats, attacks 
Fort Henry on the Tennessee River ; the Confed- 
erate commander, Gen. Tilghman, surrenders 
the fort unconditionally (6 Feb.). 

Grant captures Fort Donelson, with 15,000 
prisoners (16 Feb.). 

The Confederate Congress meets at Richmond 
(19 Feb.). 

Grant captures Nashville, Tenn. (23 Feb.). 

Jefferson Davis is inaugurated at Richmond as 
President, and A. H. Stephens as Vice-President, 
of the Southern Confederacy (22 Feb.). 

Congress passes an Act for the additional issue 
of Treasury Notes (22 Feb.) ; by it $10,000,000, in 
notes of less than ^5 are authorized in addition 
to the ^50,000,000 previously authorized. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 281 

Fresident Lincoln approves the Legal Tendex" 
Act passed by Congress '.25 Feb.) ; by it the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury is authorized to issue notes 
of not less than $5 to the amount of $150,000,000, 
not bearing interest, payable in Washington and 
New York, the notes to be legal tender for all 
debts, public and private, and to be received and 
paid by the Governmetit for all purposes except 
duties on imports and interest on the public debt ; 
those to be paid in gold. 

The Confederate iron-plated steamer Merrimac, 
in Hampton Roads, sinks the Federal ship Cum- 
berland and compels the Congress to surrende ' 
(8 March) ; but is repulsed by the Federal iron- 
clad floating battery Monitor (9 March). 

Gen. McClellan takes command of the Army 
of the Potomac (11 March), Gen. Fremont of the 
Mountain Department, and Gen. Halleck of the 
Mississippi (ii March). 

A severe battle commences at Pittsburg Land- 
ing between the Federals under Grant and the 
Confederates under Johnston and Beauregard, 
and Grant is driven from his position with severe 
loss (6 April). With the aid of Gen. Buell's re- 
inforcements Grant recaptures (7 April) the 
camps from which he had been driven. Over 
100,000 men are engaged in this sanguinary 
battle, and about 10,000 are killed and wounded, 
on each side, Gen. Johnston being among the 
killed. 

Congress passes a bill abolishing slavery in 
the District of Columbia (11 April) ; the Act pro- 
vides for a Commission to remunerate loyal 
owners ; not over $300 a slave is to be paid ; and 
J 1, 000, 000 is appropriated for the purpose ; $100,- 
000 are also appropriated for their colonization. 
An Act is also passed abolishing slavery in the 
"Territories of the United States." 

The taking of New Orleans (24 April) by a 
naval force under Commodore Farrag^ut, aided 



282 HAND BOOK FOR 

by a land force under Gen. Butler, is one of the 
most remarkable exploits of this eventful year. 
The city is strongly defended ; 75 miles below it 
are two strong forts ; and below these a chain is 
stretched across the river with earth-works at 
each end ; between the forts and the chain are 5 
rafts filled with inflammable material, besides 13 
gunboats, an iron-clad floating battery, and an 
iron ram. Commodore Farragut cannonades the 
forts in vain, but saves his vessels from the burn- 
ing rafts by seizing and extinguishing each as it 
floats down. At last he decides to attempt to run 
by the forts with his fleet. He accordingly gets 
under way, and while the forts, the steamers and 
the battery all pour their fire upon the fleet, it 
steams steadily up the river till all danger is 
passed ; the Union vessel Varuna alone sinks or 
disables 6 Confederate steamers ; Farragut an- 
chors oflF the quarantine station (24 April); and 
takes possession of New Orlearns (25 April). 

Gen. Butler enters New Orleans with a land 
force and proclaims martial law (i May). 

The Seward-Lyons treaty between Great 
Britain and the U. S. for the suppression of the 
slave-trade is ratified (20 May). 

General Pope is assigned to the command of 
the Army of Virginia (26 June). The Confeder- 
ates, under Gen. Robert E. Lee, attack McClel- 
lan's right wing at Mechanicsville (26 June). 

President Lincoln gives approval to an Act of 
Congress granting aid for the construction of a 
railroad from the Missouri to the Pacific Ocean 
(I July). 

President Lincoln, in response to the official 
requests of the Governors of 18 States, calls for 
300,000 volunteers ( I July). The battle of Malvern 
Hills closes a seven days' struggle with the re- 
pulse of the Confederates (i July). 

Gen. Halleck is appointed commander of all 
ike land forces of the U. S. (n July). 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 283 

The Confederates capture Cynthiana, Ky. (17). 
President Lincoln sanctions a bill confiscating 
the property and emancipating the slaves ot all 
persons who shall continue in arms against the 
Union for 60 days (17 July). 

Gen. Halleck orders Gen. McClellan to evacu- 
ate the Peninsula of Virginia (3 Aug.). 

The War Department issues an order (4 Aug.) 
for a draft of 300,000 more men for the service of 
the U. S. , to serve for nine months, unless pre- 
viously discharged ; it is also directed that if any 
State shall not by the 15th of August furnish its 
quota of men, by volunteers, the deficiency shall 
be made up by a special draft from the militia. 

The Habeas Corpus Act is ordered to be sus- 
pended (8 Aug.). Orders are also issued for the 
arrest of all persons found discouraging enlist- 
ments, prohibiting the issuance of passports, and 
enjoining newspaper correspondents from ac- 
companying the armies (8 Aug.). 

The Federals are defeated at the second battle 
of Bull Run, and retreat under cover of the 
night (30 Aug.). 

The battle of Chantilly is fought in the midst 
of a thunder-storm (i Sep.); Gen. Kearney is 
shot by a Confederate soldier of whom he made 
some enquiry by mistake, supposing him to be a 
Union soldier ; Gen. Stevens is also killed. Gen. 
Burnside's army evacuate Fredericksburg (i). 
Union troops evacuate Lexington, Ky. (i). The 
Confederates are expected to attack Louisvifle 
(i), and there is great excitement in Cincinnati. 

Gen. Lee crosses the Potomac with his army 
(5 Sep.), and marches to Fredrick, the bands 
playing "Maryland, my Maryland." Gen. 
Bragg enters Kentucky on his grand raid (5). 

Gen. Banks is assigned to the command of 
the fortifications in and around Washington (7). 
Gen. McClellan takes the field at the head of the 
Army of the Potomac (7). Cumberland Gap is 
evacmated by the Federals (7). 



l84 HAND BOOK FOR 

The Confederates evacuate Frederick (9). 

Lee, at bay, takes a strong position behind 
Antietam Creek (14); a desperate struggle ensues 
at the Bridge, and both forces are nearly de- 
stroyed ; reinforcements come up, and Harper's 
Ferry surrenders (15); the Confederates attempt 
to blockade the Ohio (15) ; and then re cross the 
Potomac into Virginia (18). 

President Lincoln issues his Emancipation 
Proclamation (22 Sep.) : " That on the first day 
of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held 
as slaves within any State, the people whereof 
shall then be in rebellion against the United 
States, shall be then, thenceforth, and forever 
free ; and the Executive Government of the 
United States, including the military and naval 
authority thereof, will recognize and maintain 
the freedom of such persons, and will do no act 
or acts to repress such persons, or anv of them, 
in any effort they may make for their persoual 
freedom." The President expounds the mean- 
ing of this proclamation in the following message 
to Congress; "In giving freedom to the slave, 
we assure freedom to the free, honorable alike in 
what we give, and what we preserve. We shall 
nobly save, or meanly lose, the best hope of 
earth. The way is plain, peaceful, glorious, just 
a way which, if followed, the world will forever 
applaud, and God must forever bless." 

McClellan removed from command, and Bura- 
si(ie takes his place (Nov. 7). 

President Lincoln enjoins on the forces the 
orderly observance of the Sabbath (16 Nov. ). 

Gen. Banks' expedition sails for New Orleans 
(6 Dec). 

Union defeat at Fredericksburg. Great slaugh- 
ter (Dec. 13). 

The Sioux Indians, becoming dissatisfied with 
the payment of money claimed by them, take 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 285 

the war-path (26 Dec); Little Crow and other 
chiefs perpetrate barbarous outrages in Dakota, 
Iowa and Minnesota; hundreds of the inhabit- 
ants are butchered; and thousands, driven from 
their homes, see all they possess burned by these 
remorseless wretches. The savages are finally 
routed. Thirty-nine of them are tried, con- 
demned to death, and hanged at Mankato, Minn. 
(26 Dec). 

The money issued by the Confederate Govern- 
ment has steadily depreciated in value. Flour 
brings I40 per barrel; salt $1 per lb.; a pair of 
boots, $50. Woolen clothing is scarce, and the 
army depend largely on captures from the more 
ample Federal stores. A spool of thread came to 
tee worth |2o; a pound of sugar, ^75; and a pound 
of black pepper, I300. 

The National expenses for the year are I570,- 
841,700; the debt is 1514.211,371; the imports 
are $205 771,729; and the exports, |?I3, 069,519. 
1863. President Lincoln issues his Emancipation 
Proclamation (i Jan.), announced in Sept., 1862. 
The number of slaves made nominally free by 
this proclamation is about 3,120,000. 

Gen. Burnside is relieved of the command of 
the Army of the Potomac (28 Jan.), and Gen. 
Hooker is appointed in his place. Gen. Sumner 
and Gen. Franklin are also relieved from duty in 
the Army of the Potomac (28). A steamer and 
300 Confederates are captured near Van Buren, 
Mo. (28). 

Maj.-Gen. Burnside is appointed to command 
the Department of the Ohio (2 Feb). 

A disloyal State Convention at Frankfort, Ky., 
is dispersed by the military (18). 

President Lincoln sanctions (3 March) a finan- 
cial bill which has passed Congress, the first 
section of which authorizes a loan of ^300,000,000 
for the current fiscal year, for which bonds are 
to be issued, payable at such times as the Secre- 



286 HAND BOOK FOR 

tary of the Treasury may elect, at not Ic^s than 
ten and not more than forty years. A further 
clause provides for the issue of Treasury Notes 
to the amount of ^400,000,000, to run not more 
than three years, to bear interest at six per cent, 
and to be legal tender. Fractional currency is 
to be issued to the amount of ^50,000,000. 

Conscription Act passed (12 March). By this 
act all able-bodied male citizens, and all persons 
of foreign birth who have declared their intention 
of becoming citizens, and who have voted, be- 
tween the ages of 20 and 45, are made liable to 
be called into the service of the country, unless 
specially excepted. The exceptions include the 
physically or mentally incapable; the only son 
of a widow, or of infirm parents requiring their 
son's labor for actual support; the only brother 
of children without father or mother, under 
twelve, dependent on him for support; and the 
father of motherless children under twelve de- 
pendent on him for support. The conscripts are 
divided into two classes: First, all below 35 years 
of age, and all unmarried persons between 35 
and 45; second, married persons between 35 atid 
45. The second class are not to be called into 
the service till the first class are exhausted. It 
is estimated that, after allowing for all excep- 
tions, the President has 4,000,000 men he may 
call upon for service. The act also provides that 
any person drafted may be discharged by pay- 
ment of a sum, not exceeding $300, to be fixed 
by the Secretary of War. 

Admiral Farragut, with seven of his fleet, 
passes Port Hudson (14 March) after a fierce 
engagement, in which the Mississippi is disabled, 
and then burned by the Admiral's orders. 

Admiral Farragut, with the Hartford, Switz- 
erland and Albatross, engages and passes the 
grand Gulf batteries (i April); he pursues his 
course (2 April) as far as Red River, destroyis^ 
Confederate gunboats. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 387 

At Richmond, Va., exasperated women create 
a "bread riot (2 April). 

Gen. Grant's army lands near Port Gibson, 
Miss. (30 April); defeats the Confederates 
(i May), taking 500 prisoners ; and he begins his 
march to Vicksburg. 

The battle of Chancellorsville takes place be- 
tween the armies of Hooker and Lee (2 May); 
after a very fierce battle, in which the illnstrious 
''Stonewall " Jackson is wounded, by mistake, 
by his own men, the Federals are checked. 

"Stonewall" Jackson dies at Richmond, Va. 
(10 May), of wounds and pneumonia, aged 39. 

At the battle of Champion Hill, Miss., Grant 
drives the forces under Pemberton as far as the 
Big Black River (16); and the Federals, under 
Grant and Porter, invest Vicksburg (18); they 
assault Vicksburg (22), and are repulsed after a 
very heavy fight. 

Gen. Hunter is removed from the command of 
the Department of the South (i June), and is 
succeeded by Gen. Gilmore. 

Lee marches into Maryland (15 June); Presi- 
dent Lincoln calls for 100,000 men to repel the 
invasion. Lee advances as far north as Cham- 
bersburg (16); and Gen. Milroy makes another 
unsuccessful attack on Harper's Ferry (16). 

Rear- Admiral Foote dies in New York City 
(26 June). 

General Hooker, at his own request, is re- 
relieved from the command of the Army of the 
Potomac (29 June), and is succeeded by Gen. 
Meade. 

The battle of Gettysburg begins (i July); Gen. 
Geo. G. Meade commands the Union forces, with 
an army of 80,000 ; Gen. Lee commands the Con- 
federates, with an army about equal. The Con- 
federates were utterly defeated after a three days 
battle, in which both armies showed almost un- 
exampled valor. 



288 HAND BOOK FOR 

July 4. — Vicksburg surrendered uncondition- 
ally by Gen. Pemberton, with 27,000 men and 
two hundred cannon. 

1863. President Lincoln rejects the demand for the 
suppression of the conscription in New York 
State (7 Aug.). 

President Lincoln suspends the Habeas Corpus 
Act (15 Sept.). 

The Department of the Cumberland and the 
Mississippi are consolidated under Gen. Grant 
( 20 Oct. ). Gen. Rosecrans is succeeded by Gen. 
Thompson (20). 

The storming and capture of " Lookout Moun- 
tain '* (24 Nov.); Hooker's celebrated "fight 
above the clouds;" Gen. Bragg is defeated 
(24 Nov.). 

Jefferson Davis issues his annual message 
(7 Dec). U. S. Congress re-assembles (7). 

Longstreet's soldiers begin to desert at the rate 
of from twenty to fifty per day (23 Dec). 

The national expenses for the year are $895,- 
796,630; the debt is ^1,098,793,181; the imports 
are 1252,919,920; and the exports, $305,884,998. 

1864. A great meeting is held at Cooper Institute, 
New York, to celebrate the First Anniversary of 
Freedom (i Jan.). 

President Lincoln orders a draft for 500,000 
men (i Feb.). 

Gen. W. T. Sherman, with his troops, leaves 
Vicksburg (3 Feb.), and arrives at Meridian, 
Miss., on his great raid into the heart of the 
enemy's country (15 Feb.); he destroys the rail- 
way communications of the enemy and much 
stores. 

Gen. Grant is appointed to the command of 
all the armies (9 March), under the title of Lieu- 
tenant-General. He plans two simultaneous 
movements: one against Richmond, Va., by the 
Army of the Potomac, under the command of 
Gen. Meade ; the other against Atlanta, Ga., 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 289 

under the direction of Gen. W. T, Sherman, who 
undertakes to march an army across the interior 
of the rebellious States, from the mountains to 
the sea. 

The Governors of Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Wis- 
consin and Indiana offer to raise for the General 
Government 85,000 men for a hundred days ^23 
April); the Government accepts the offer (26 
April), and appropriates ^20,000,000 for payment 
of the men. 

Grant's army moves across the Rapidan, 
toward Chancellorsville and the Wilderness (3 
May). 

The Bill for Reconstruction is passed (4 May). 

A draft is ordered in Massachusetts, New 
Jersey, Ohio, Minnesota, Kentucky and Mary- 
land (5 May). 

Lee makes a series of unsuccessful attacks 
upon the Federal forces in the Wilderness (5, 6, 
7,8, 10, II, 12 May); during the first two days, 
in the bloody fray, that lasted from the dawn of 
the 5th to sunset of the 6th, 15,000 men on each 
side are slaughtered. 

After the battle of Spottsylvania Court House 
(9-12 May) Grant telegraphs to Lincoln that he 
proposes "to fight it out on this line, if it takes 
all summer." 

Sherman moves from Chattanooga, Tenn. (8 
May), on his advance to Atlanta. 

Nathaniel Hawthorne dies (16 May), aged 60. 

The South Carolina Union Convention meets 
at Beaufort (17 May). 

Lincoln is renominated for President, ^and 
Andrew Johnson for Vice-President (8 June). 

The Fugitive Slave Law is repealed in the 
House of Representatives (13 June). 

Grant's army crosses the James River (14 June). 

Gen. Leonidas Polk is killed at Pine Moun- 
tain, Ga. (14); Sherman advances toward Kene- 
saw (14). 



ago HAND BOOK FOR 

Confederate privateers have been for some 
time very destructive to American merchant 
vessels ; the Shenandoah has destroyed thirty-four 
whale-ships in the Arctic Seas, and the Alabama 
has taken sixty-five vessels. The Alabama is 
attacked (19 June) by the U. S. S. Kearsarge, 
Captain Winslow, ofiF Cherbourg, France. Dur- 
ing the action, the two vessels steam at the rate 
of seven miles an hour, and swing round one 
another in circles so as to bring their broadsides 
to bear. After describing seven of these circles, 
and coming within a quarter of a mile of each 
other, the Alabama is sunk, Captain Semmes 
and his men being picked up by an English 
yacht. 

Secretary Chase resigns (30 June), and Hon. 
William Fessenden is appointed to fill the 
Tacancy. 

Sherman's army crosses the Chattahoochee 
(16 July) in pursuit of Johnston. Johnston is 
superseded by Gen. John B. Hood (18}. 

Hood makes a desperate but unsuccessful 
attack on Sherman's lines round Atlanta, losing 
not less than 20,000 killed, wounded and pris- 
oners (22 July); Gen. McPherson is killed by a 
Confederate at this battle. The Louisiana State 
Convention adopts the new constitution abolish- 
ing slavery (22). 

A mine containing six tons of powder, under a 
Confederate fort at Petersburg, explodes, de- 
stroying the fort and garrison (30 July). Cham- 
Ibersburg, Pa., is burnt by the Confederates (30). 

Admiral Farragut's fleet passes Forts Morgan 
and Gaines (5 Aug.); the Confederate ram 
Tennessee is captured, and several other vessels 
are destroyed; and Fort Gaines surrenders, and 
Fort Powell is evacuated (5). 

McClellan is nominated for President by the 
National Democratic Convention at Chicago, 
and Geo. H. Pendleton for Vice-President (29 
Aug.). 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 291 

Federal troops take possession of Atlanta (2 

Sept.). 

The Confederate General John Morgan is killed 
near Greenville, Tenn. (7 Sept.). 

Sherman's army is concentrated at Atlanta 
(9 Sept.). 

At the battle of Winchester, Sheridan captures 
5000 prisoners, all the wounded, and five guns 
(19 Sept.). The steamer Island Queen is cap- 
tured and sunk on Lake Erie (19). 

Gen. Grant advances his lines on the north 
side of the James River to within seven miles of 
Richmond (28 Sept.). 

The Confederates under Gen. Sterling Price 
invade Missouri (28). 

Sheridan defeats the Confederates at Cedar 
Creek (19 Oct.). 

The Presidential election takes place (S Nov.); 
the Republican candidates, Abraham Lincoln, 
President, and Andrew Johnson, Vice-President, 
are elected, receiving the electoral votes of 22 
States, 213 in all. The Democratic party had 
nominated Gen George B.McClellan for President, 
and Geo. H. Pendleton for Vice-President. They 
secured only the votes of New Jersey, Delaware, 
and Kentucky, 21 in all. McClellan resigns his 
command in the army (8). 

General Sherman begins (16 Nov.) his great 
march from Atlanta to the sea, the army of 60,- 
000 advancing in two colums under Generals 
Howard and Slocum, and largely subsisting on 
■what could be found in the fertile country 
through which it passed. 

At the battle of Franklin (30 Nov.), Hood is 
repulsed with a loss of 5000 men, guns, flags, and 
1000 prisoners; the Union loss is 1500. 

The second session of the 38th Congress meets 
(5 Dec). 

Gen Thomas defeats the Confederates under 
Gen. Hood near Nashville, Tenn. (14-16 Dec). 



292 HAND BOOK FOR 

Sherman storms Fort McAllister (13 Dec), and 
enters Savannah (21). 

General Butler and Admiral Porter are repulsed 
in an attack on Wilmington (24-25 Dec). 

The National expenses for the year, including 
payments on loans, are ^1,298, 144,656 ; the debt 
is 11,740,690,489 ; the imports are ^329,562,895 ; 
and the exports, 1320,035,199. 
1S65. Gen. Sherman resumes his great march north- 
ward (6 June). Writing of this march, he says : 
'• Christmas found us at Savannah. Waiting 
there only long enough to fill our wagons, we 
began another march, which for peril, labor and 
results, will compare with any ever made by an 
organized army. The floods of the Savannah, 
the swamps of the Combahee and the Edisto, the 
high hills and rocks of the Santee, the flat quag- 
mires of the Pedee and Cape Fear Rivers, were 
all passed in mid-winter, with its floods and rain, 
in the face of an accumulating enemy ; and after 
the battles of Averysborough and Bentonsville, 
we once more came out of the wilderness to meet 
our friends at Goldsboro." 

A meeting is held at Savannah to thank New 
York and Boston for their generous supplies of 
food and clothing (25 Jan.). 

A debate is held in the Confederate Congress 
concerning the enlistment of negroes (26 Jan.). 

The Confederate Vice-President, Alex. H. Ste- 
phens, Senator R. M. T. Hunter and Judge 
Campbell come as Peace Commissioners within 
Grant's lines (30 Jan.). Sherman reaches Savan- 
nah River, 50 miles above Savannah (30). 

President Lincoln arrives at Fortress Monroe 
to meet the Confederate Commissioners (2 Feb.) ; 
the meeting (3) is without result. At Richmond, 
gold is 4400 per cent premium (2). 

Gen. Lee assumes supreme command of the 
Confederate forces (17 Feb.), and recommends 
arming the blacks. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 293 

ilierman captures Columbia, S. C. (17 Feb. J, 
The Confederates evacuate Charleston, and it 19 
occupied (18) by Union forces under Gen. Gil- 
more ; 200 pieces of artillery and a large supply 
of ammunition are captured ; 6000 bales of cotton 
are destroj'^ed ; much ammunition stored in the 
railroad depot is destroyed, and many lives are 
lost by the explosion. 

Fort Anderson, N. C, is taken (19 Feb.). 

Schofield captures Wilmington (22). The Con- 
federate Congress decrees that the colored people 
shall be armed (22). 

Inauguration of President Lincoln and Andrew 
Johnson as Vice-President (4 March). 

The Confederate Congress adjourns sine die 
(17 March). 

The Confederates attack General Grant and 
are severely defeated (25 March). The three 
days' battle at Five Forks begins (31) ; Sheridan 
turns Lee's flank and totally defeats him (i 
April) ; Lee retreats (2). Richmond is taken 
(2-3 April). 

General Lee and his whole army surrender to 
Gen. Grant at Appomattox Court House (9 
April). 

The Union flag is hoisted over Fort Sumter 
(12 April). 

On the evening of 14th April, President Lin- 
coln, Mrs. Lincoln, Major Rathbone and Miss 
Morris occupy a box at Ford's Theatre, Washing- 
ton ; at about haL'-past nine o'clock J. Wilkes 
Booth creeps stealthily into the box, shoots the 
President, rushes to the front of the box, brand- 
ishes a large knife, shouts " Sic semper tyrannis t 
The South is avenged," and leaps on to the 
stage ; his spur catches in the American flag, and 
he breaks his leg. The ball enters just behind 
the President's left ear and lodges in the brain ; 
he is at once removed to a private house oppo-^ 
site the theatre. 



•94 HAND BOOK FOR 

About the same hour an attempt is made to 
assassinate Secretary Seward and his son, both 
being wounded. 

President Lincoln dies at twenty-two min- 
utes past 7 o'clock, a. m. (15 April). Johnson 
takes the oath of office as President (15. J 
1865, J. Wilkes Booth, the murderer of the Presi- 
dent, after ten days' wandering and misery, is 
tracked to a barn near Bowling Green, Va., and 
refusing to surrender is shot (26 April). 

Jefiferson Davis captured (May 10) at Irwins- 
▼ille, 75 miles south of Macon, Ga. , by the 4th 
Michigan cavalry, under Col. Pritchard, of Gen. 
Wilson's command ; also his wife, mother, Post- 
master-General Regan, Col. Harrison, private 
secretary, Col. Johnson, and others. 

President Johnson proclaims the opening of 
the Southern ports (22 May), 

Kirby Smith surrenders (26 May), and the last 
armed Confederate organization succumbs. 

President Johnson proclaims an amnesty, with 
certain exceptions (29 May). 

The Confederate Gen. Hood and staff surrender 
(31 May). 

President Johnson rescinds the order requiring 
passports from all travelers entering the U. S. 
(22 June). 

The trial of Payne, Atzerott, Harold, and Mrs. 
Surratt for complicity in the assassination of 
President Lincoln is concluded (29 June) ; they 
are found guilty (29), and executed (7 July). 

A national Thanksgiving for peace is held 
(2 Nov.). 

All restrictions on southern ports are removed 
(I Sep.). 

Proclamation of the President putting an end 
to martial law in Kentucky (12 Oct.). Pardon 
of Alexander Stephens and other southern offi- 
cials (12). 

The Confederate privateer Shenandoah sur- 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 295 

renders at Liverpool (6 Nov.), after having de- 
stroyed about thirty vessels ; the crew are released 
on parole (8), and the vessel is given up to the 
American Consul (9). 

The Habeas Corpus Act is restored in the 
Northern States (i Dec. ). 

The correspondence between the British and 
U. S. Governments respecting the depredations 
of the Alabama, Shenandoah, etc., begun in 
April, closes 2 Dec; the Earl of Clarendon main- 
tains that * ' no armed vessel departed during the 
war from a British port, to cruise against the 
commerce of the U. S." 

The 39th Congress meets, 4 Dec. ; the Repub- 
lican party predominate, and move resolutions 
against the restoration of the Southern States to 
the Union ; eighty-five members from the 
Southern States are excluded from Congress. 

The National expenses for the year, including 
payments on loans, are $1,897,674,224 ; the debt 
is 12,682,593,026; the imports are ^248,555,652 ; 
and the exports $323,743,187. 
1866. The celebration of the centenary of American 
Methodism opens on the first Sunday in Jan. and 
closes on the last Sunday m Oct. ; during this 
period the sum of $8,032,755 is collected for 
church purposes. 

The U. S. Government, having notified France 
that a longer continuance of French troops in 
Mexico will be d'sagreeable to it, is informed, 9 
Jan.. that the Emperor will withdraw a portion 
in Nov., and the remainder early next year ; our 
Minister to France is subsequently informed that 
military reasons will prevent any withdrawals 
this year. Gen. Ortega, a pretender to the Presi- 
dency, after spending several months in the 
U. S., leaves New Orleans 30 Oct., and with his 
suite is arrested at Brazos Santiago, 3 Nov., by 
order of Gen. Sheridan, 3 Nov. Gen. Sherman 
aad Judge Campbell, special commissioners to 



296 HAND BOOK FOR 

tender tlie sympathy and support of the U. S. 
to the Republican Government of President 
Juarez, leave New York on the U. S. S. Susque- 
hanna, II Nov., and reach Vera Cruz 27. 

Congress passes a bill to enlarge the operations 
of the Freedmen's Bureau, 6 Feb.; the President 
vetoes it, 19, and Congress passes it over the 
veto, 16 July. 

The President declares his hostility to Con- 
gress and denounces the Reconstruction Commit- 
tee in a speech at the Executive Mansion, 22 
Feb. 

Congress passes the Civil Rights bill, 16 
March ; it is vetoed by the President, 27, and 
is passed over his veto 9 April. 

A proclamation is issued by the President, 2 
April, declaring the insurrection in the Southern 
States, excepting Texas, at an end. 

Jefferson Davis is indicted by the Grand Jury 
of the U. S. Circuit Court, of Va., 8 May ; Judge 
Underwood declines to release him on bail, 
II June. 

A new Atlantic cable is finished, early in May, 
and successfully laid by the Great Eastern, 27 
July ; the lost cable of 1865 is picked up, i Sep., 
spliced, 2, and laid without accident. 

Congress adopts the 14th Amendment to the 
Constitution, 13 June. 

By Act of Congress, 23 July, Tennessee is for- 
mally restored to the Union. 

Congress creates the grades of Admiral and 
Vice- Admiral in the navy and revives that of 
General in the army, 25 July ; Farragut is pro- 
moted to Admiral, Porter to Vice-Admiral, 
Grant to General, and Sherman to Lieutenant- 
General. 

A gold medal, purchased by the subscriptions 
of 40,000 French citizens, for Mrs. Abrahfim 
Lincoln is delivered by a committee to U. S. 
Minister Bigelow, at Paris, i Dec. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 297 

A bill granting the elective franchise to citizens 
of the District of Columbia, irrespective of race 
or color, passes Congress, 14 Dec. 

The national expenses for the year are ^520^- 
809,416; the debt is $2,783,425,879 ; the imports 
are |445,5i2,i5S ; and the exports, ^550,684,277. 
1867. The President vetoes the District of Columbit 
Bill, 7 Jan. On the same day Representative 
Ashley, of Ohio, charges him with the commis- 
sion of acts which kre high crimes and misde- 
meanors, lor which he ought to be impeached ; 
and a resolution instructing the Judiciary Com- 
mittee to investigate the subject is adopted by a 
vote of I -J to 38. 

T e bill f^r the admission of Colorado into the 
Uuioa is adopted, but the President vetoes it, 
28 Jan.; t'le bill for the admission of Nebraska is 
also adopted ; it is vetoed, 29 Jan., and passed 
over the vet;-), i March. 

The Evangelical Alliance of the U. S. is 
organized in New York, 30 Jan.; with William 
E. Dodge as president. 

Mexico City is evacuated by the French, 5 
Feb ; Maximilian suddenly leaves La Teja, and 
unites bis small force with the armies of Mir- 
amon and Mejia at Queretaro, where with 8000 
adhccnts they are besieged by Gen. Escobedo 
during March and April; by the treachery of 
Gen. Lopez, the Emperor's bosom friend, the 
Liberal troops are admitted^ to the city, 15 May, 
and take the entire Imperial force prisoners, 15 
May ; a court-martial for the trial of Maximilian 
and Gens. Miramon and Mejia assembles, 13 
June, and condemns them to be shot, 16 ; despite 
the protest of the Prussian Minister to Mexico 
and the appeals for clemency of Secretary Seward, 
the sentence is carried out, 19 ; the body of 
Maximilian is given to the Consul-General of 
Austria, and after being embalmed is conveyed 
to Austria on an Imperial steamer. 



298 HAND BOOK FOR 

Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania, introduces 
the "Military Reconstructiou Bill," providing 
for the division of the insurrectionary States into 
five military districts, into Congress, 6 Feb. ; it 
passes the House, 13, the Senate, with amend- 
ments, 16, both Houses concur in it, 2 March, 
the President vetoes it the same day, and Con- 
gress passes it over the veto. 

An Act designed to restrict the exercise of the 
power of appointment and removal by the Presi- 
dent is adopted by Congress, 2 March, vetoed by 
the President the same day, and passed over 
the veto. 

Congress adopts a national bankruptcy bill, 
and establishes a Department of Education, 2 
March; Henry Barnard, LL. D., President of 
St. John's College, Annapolis, is appointed and 
confirmed Commissioner of Education, 16. 

The 40th Congress convenes, 4 March; Schuyler 
Colfax is elected Speaker of the House for the 
third time, and Edward McPherson is re-elected 
clerk ; a supplement to the Reconstruction Act 
is concurred in, 19, vetoed by the President, 23, 
and passed over the veto. 

A treaty is signed between the U. S. and 
Russia, 30 March, for the transfer of the tract of 
land known as Russian America (Alaska) to the 
U. S. for the sum of |7, 200,000; ratifications are 
exchanged, 20 June, and the formal transfer is 
made to Gen. Rousseau, at New Archangel 
(Sitka), 9 Oct. 

Jefferson Davis is taken to Richmond, Va., 13 
May, on a writ of habeas coi'Piis, and on the 
application of his counsel is admitted to bail in 
the sum of |ioo,ooo, to appear at Richmond, 26 
Nov. The following act as sureties on the bond ; 
Horace Greeley, Augustus Schell, N. Y.; Aris- 
tides Welsh, David K. Jackman, Phila.; W. H. 
McFarland, Richard B. Haxall, Isaac Daven- 
port, Abraham Warwick, G. A. Myers, W. W. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 299 

Crump, James Lyons, J. A. Meredith, W. H. 
Ivyons, John M. Botts, Thomas W. Boswell, and 
James Thomas, Jr., all of Virginia; on 26 Nov. 
the examination is adjourned to March next. 

An international monetary conference is 
opened at Paris, 17 June, and closed, 9 July ; the 
creation of a unitary common coin of gold is 
agreed to, and all the governments represented 
are asked to give a definite answer to the proper 
sition before 15 Feb., 1868. 

President Johnson asks Secretaiy Stanton t« 
resign, 5 Aug.; the Secretary declines, and the 
President removes him, 12, and appoints Gen. 
Grant, Secretary of War pro tern ; Stanton retires 
under protest ; the President gives the Senate 
his reason for removing the Secretary, 12 Dec. 

The President issues an amnesty proclamation 
which covers nearly all the whites of the Southern 
States, 7 Sep. 

A large number of American Episcopalian 
bishops take part in a Pan-Anglican Synod, held 
in London, 24-27 Sep. 

The King of Denmark announces, 25 Oct., 
his resolution to cede the islands of St. Thomas 
and St. John, in the West Indies, to the U. S. 

The national expenses for the year are I357,- 
542,675 ; the debt is 12,692,199,21-, ; the impc^rts 
1417,831,571; and the exports, 1440,722,228. 
1868. The Senate refuses to approve of the Presi- 
dent's suspension of Secretary Stanton, 13 Jan., 
and it thereby becomes void ; Gen. Grant imme- 
diately vacates the office and Mr. Stanton takes 
possession; on 21 Feb. the President again 
removes Mr. Stanton and appoints Adjutant- 
General Lorenzo Thomas, U. S. A., Secretary 
ad inteHm ; the President notifies the Senate, 
aud Mr. Stanton the House, of the action the 
same day; Mr. Stanton refuses to vacate the 
office, and has Gen. Thomas arrested, 22 ; the 
House resolves, 22, by a vote of 126 to 47, that 



300 HAND BOOK FOR 

Andrew Johnson be impeached of high crimes 
and misdemeanors ; Messrs. Thaddeus Stevens, 
Penna.; Benjamin F. Butler, Mass.; John A. 
Bingham, Ohio; George S. Boutwell, Mass.; 
James F. Wilson, Iowa; Thomas Williams, 
Penna.; and John A. Logan, Ills., are appointed 
managers, on the part of the House, Mr. Butler 
being selected as chief prosecutor, 29 ; the arti- 
cles of impeachment are accepted by the House, 
2 iBIarch ; the Senate organizes as a high court 
of impeachment, with Chief Justice Chase pre- 
siding, 5 ; the President is summoned to the bar, 
7, and appears by counsel, 13; ten days are 
granted to prepare an answer to the indictment : 
the House denies every averment in the answer, 
23, and the trial opens, 30 ; the examination of 
witnesses closes, 22 April : the arguments of 
counsel are finished, 6 May, and the entire 
Senate votes, 26, when 35 pronounce the Presi- 
dent guilty and 19 not guilty ; he is therefore 
acquitted by one vote. Mr. S'anton retires from 
office the same day, and Gen. John M. Schofield 
is appointed and confirmed Secretary of War. 

An Embassy from the Emperor of China, 
headed by Hon. Anson Burlingame, the Ameri- 
can Minister, reaches San Francisco, 31 March ; 
after a short stay the members proceed to Wash- 
ington, via New York, and enter upon negotia- 
tions for a special treaty, containing additions to 
the treaty of 18 June, 1858 ; the new treaty is 
signed, 4 July, and ratified by the Senate, 16; 
during the stay of the Embassy in the U. S., Mr. 
Burlingame and the Chinese princes are the 
recipients of grand ovations. 

The National Republican Convention is held 
in Chicago, assembling 20 May ; Joseph R. 
Hawley, of Conn., is chosen permanent president; 
the platform denounces all forms of repudiation 
of the national debt, and condemns the course of 
President Johnson ; Gen. Grant is nominated for 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 301 

the Presidency, receiving 650 votes ; on the sixth 
ballot for Vice-President, Schuyler Colfax is 
nominated, receiving 522 votes. 

Congress passes a bill, 12 June, to admit North 
Carolina, South Carolina, l/ouisiaua, Georgia, 
Alabama, and Florida to representation ; a bill 
to admit Arkansas is vetoed by the President, 20, 
and passed over the veto. 

The National Democratic Convention is held 
in New York, convening 4 July ; Horatio Sey- 
mour is chosen permanent president, 6 ; the 
platform demands the immediate restoration to 
all the States of their rights in the Union, 
amnesty for all past political offences, reform of 
abuses in administration, payment of the public 
debt, and the subordination of the military to 
the civil power ; on the 22d ballot, Horatio Sey- 
mour is nominated for President, receiving the 
entire vote, 317 ; Gen. Frank P. Blair receives 
the nomination for Vice-President. 

An amnesty proclamation is issued by the 
President, 4 July, pardoning all persons in the 
Southern States except those under presentment 
or indictment in any court of the U. S, having 
competent jurisdiction. 

Secretary Seward issues a notice of the adop- 
tion of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution 
by a majority of the States, 20 July. 

In the Presidential election, 3 Nov. , Grant and 
Colfax receive 3,015,887 popular and 214 electoral 
votes, and Seymour and Blair 2,703,249 popular 
and 80 electoral votes. 

Fort Lafayette, New York harbor, is destroyed 
by fire, i Dec. 

The President issues a second amnesty proc- 
lamation, 25 Dec, declaring unconditionally 
and without reservation, a full pardon and 
amnesty to every person who participated in the 
late insurrection. 

The cotton crop for the year yields 1250,000,000, 
or ^90,000,000 more than in i860. 



302 HAND BOOK FOR 

1869. The 15th Amendment to the Constitution, 
giving the right of suffrage to all citizens of the 
Republic, without regard to race, color, or 
previous condition, is recommended by a joint 
resolution of Congress, 26 Feb. ; it is subse- 
quently ratified by the requisite number of States. 

Gen. U. S. Grant is inaugurated eighteenth 
President of the U. S., 4 March; the 41st Con- 
gress assembles at noon, the same day. 

The President recommends and Congress 
sanctions the appointment of a number of mem- 
bers of the Society of Friends as Government 
agents among the Indians, April. 

During the month of June, a lay vote is taken 
in all the Methodist Churches in the U. S., on 
the long-agitated question of lay representation ; 
the total vote cast is about 250,000, of which 
170,000 are cast in favor of the change, and about 
80,000 against. 

President Grant appoints Gen. Babcock, 2 
June, a special agent to obtain information con- 
cerning the Dominican Republic ; on his return 
from the island, he renders a report favorable to 
the project of annexation ; he is again sent to the 
island to assist the U. S. Commercial Agent, 
Ra3^mond H. Perry, to negotiate for the annexa- 
tion of the whole territory of the Republic to the 
U. S. ; a treaty for the annexation of the terri- 
tory, and a convention for the lease of the Bay 
and Peninsula of Samana are concluded, 29 Nov.; 
the Senate rejects the treaty after an exciting 
debate. 

George Peabody again lands at New York, 10 
June ; he now endows the Peabody Museum, at 
Salem, Mass., with $150,000; gives $30,000 to 
Newburyport for a library ; $30,000 to Phillips 
Academy, Andover ; $20,000 to the Massachusetts 
Historical Society ; $20,000 to the Maryland 
Historical Society ; $25,000 to Kenyon College; 
$10,000 to the Public Library at Thetford, Vt. ; 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 303 

$60,000 to Washington College, Va. ; and adds 
^1,400,000 to his Southern Education Fund. He 
leaves for London, 30 Sept., and dies there 4 
Nov. ; the funeral services are held in West- 
minster Abbey, 12, and the body is placed on the 
British turret-steamship Monarch for transporta- 
tion to the U. S., II Dec. 

A great musical jubilee, projected by Patrick 
S. Gilmore, to commemorate the restoration of 
peace in the U. S. is held in Boston, 15, 16, 17, 
18, 19 June. 

A soldiers' national monument, erected on the 
battleiield of Gettysburg, is dedicated, i July, 
Gen. Meade, the hero of the fight, making the 
address. 

A gold clique in New York produces a panic, 
24 Sept., by forcing the price of gold ; it sells in 
the morning at 150, and by noon at i62j^ ; the 
most intense excitement prevails, until the 
Government announces that it will relieve the 
market by selling gold, when the price falls to 133. 

The Spanish Government has 30 gunboats built 
in New York ; they are seized by U. S. Marshals 
on a charge of being intended for war against a 
friendly nation, Peru ; Judge Blatchford releases 
them, 14 Dec, and 18 leave under convoy of a 
Spanish frigate, 19. 

During the year, the President appoints J. 
Lothrop Motley, U. S. Minister to Great Britain, 
vice Reverdy Johnson, recalled ; John Jay, 
Minister to Aus,tria ; Andrew G. Curtin, Minister 
to Russia ; Gen. Daniel E. Sickles, Minister to 
Spain ; and Moses H. Grinnell, Collector of the 
Port of New York. 
1870. Fenians begin congregating in force at differ- 
ent points along the Canadian border in New 
York and Vermont, 22 May. The present cam- 
paign contemplates a movement into Wyoming 
Territory, the capture of the cannon and arms of 
the British expedition against Louis Riel and a 



304 HAND BOOK FOR 

raid on the eastern frontier between Kingston 
and Montreal. President Grant issues a warning 
proclamation, 24; over 1000 men gather at Bur- 
lington and nearly 3000 at St. Albans, Vt. ; Gen. 
O'Neill orders a Fenian advance early in the 
morning, 25, and shortly afterward an engage- 
ment occurs at Cook's Corners, St. Armand ; 
after an hour's skirmishing, O'Neill orders a 
rest, and retires to a neighboring building where 
he is arrested by Gen. George Foster, U. S. Mar- 
shal ; O'Neill threatens resistance, but Foster 
forces him into a carriage at the point of a pistol, 
and drives him through his men to St. Albans, 
where he is lodged in jail. Fighting is resumed, 
but the Fenians are soon forced to fall back ; an 
engagement occurs at Trout River, 27, in which 
the invaders are routed. The subsequent arrest 
of the leaders of both movements puts an end 
to the scheme. 

Admiral David G. Farragut, U. S. N., dies at 
Portsmouth, N. H., 15 Aug., aged 69 ; the funeral 
is held in New York, 30 Sep. President Grant 
and other distinguished officers of the army and 
navy participating. 

Upon the breaking out of the Franco-Prussian 
war. President Grant issues a neutrality procla- 
mation, 22 Aug. ; recruiting in New York for the 
French armies, and the presence there of several 
French war- vessels, lead him to issue another, 8 
Oct., particularly defining the duties of citizens 
of a neutral nation. 

Gen. Robert E. Lee, Commander-in-chief of 
the Confederate armies, dies at Ivexington, Va., 
12 Oct., aged 62 ; the funeral is held at Washing- 
ton and Lee College, of which he had been 
president since 1866. 

In the U. S. Senate, Mr. Morton introduces a 
resolution for the appointment of Commissioners 
to proceed to San Domingo and inquire into all 
the facts bearing on the question of annexation, 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 305 

12 Dec. ; in the House — the same day — Mr. 
Banks offers a joint resolution for the appoint- 
ment of commissioners to negotiate a treaty with 
San Domingo for the acquisition of all its terri- 
tory by the U. S. ; Mr. Morton's resolution is laid 
on the table, but is taken up, 20, and, despite 
Mr. Sumner's bitter opposition, is passed by a 
vote of 32 to 9, 30 being absent ; President Grant 
appoints Hon. Benj. F. Wade, Ohio ; President 
A. D. White, of Cornell University, and Hon. S. 
G. Howe, Mass., commissioners to proceed im- 
mediately to San Domingo, and the U. S. S. 
Tennessee is ordered into commission to convey 
the party thither, 
187 1. By Act of Congress, the income tax law is 
repealed, 26 Jan. 

Sir Edward Thornton, the British Minister to 
the U. S., under instructions from his Govern- 
ment, proposes to Secretary Fish a joint commis- 
sion for the settlement of the troubles between 
the U. S. and Great Britain, growing out of the 
fisheries question, 26 Jan. ; Mr. Fish replies, 30, 
expressing the desire of the President that the 
Alabama claims shall also be discussed, to which 
the Minister assents. The President, 9 Feb., 
nominates Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State ; 
Robert C. Schenck, U. S. Minister to Great 
Britain ; E. R. Hoar, Attorney- General ; Justice 
Samuel Nelson, U. S. Supreme Court ; and 
George H. Williams, U. S. Senator, as commis- 
sioners on the part of the U. S. ; they are con- 
firmed by the Senate, 10. Queen Victoria 
appoints the Earl de Grey and Ripon, Sir 
Stafford Northcote, Sir Edward Thornton, Sir 
John A. Macdonald, and Prof. Montague Bernard, 
commissioners on the part of Great Britain. 
The High Joint Commission begins its sessions in 
Washington, 27, Lord Tenterden and J. Bancroft 
Davis, Assistant Secretary of State, acting as 
joint protocolists. A treaty is signed by the 



3o6 HAND BOOK FOR 

commissioners, 8 May, providing for the settle- 
ment by the arbitration of a mixed commission 
of all the questions at issue ; this treaty is 
promptly ratified by both governments, and they 
join in asking the Emperor of Brazil, the King 
of Italy, and the President of the Swiss Confed- 
eration to appoint each an arbitrator. The Mixed 
Commission, consisting of Charles Francis Adams, 
U. S. ; Sir Alexander Cockburu, Great Britain ; 
ex-President Staempfli, Switzerland ; Count Sclo- 
pis, Italy; and Baron Itajuba, Brazil, meets in 
Geneva, and organizes early in Dec. The British- 
American Claims Commission, for other claims, 
is composed of Russell Gurnev, Great Britain ; 
Judge J. R. Fraser, U. S. ; and' Count Corti, of 
Italy ; the tribunal adjourns to 15 June next. 

A mass-meeting of the citizens of New York 
is held, 4 Sept., to consider the mismanagement 
of the city and county finances and the exposures 
of the Tweed Ring ; a committee of seventy 
eminent citizens is chosen to investigate the 
frauds, and Charles C Conor is selected as legal 
adviser ; indictments are found against Mayor 
Hall, William M. Tweed, Commissioner of Public 
Works, Peter B. Sweeney, Commissioner of 
Parks, Comptroller Connelly, and others; they 
are arrested, 26 Oct., and admitted to bail ; Con- 
nelly flees the country, and Tweed is again 
arrested, 15 Dec, on a charge of felony. Ma5'^or 
Hall was upon trial acquitted. 

Chicago has a $r, 000,000 fire, 7 Oct. On 
the following evening another conflagration 
breaks out, causing a loss of 250 lives and the 
destruction of 17,500 buildings ; more than 2000 
acres of space are burned over, including the 
business part of the city ; upward of 98,000 are 
rendered homeless ; the total loss is computed at 
nearly $200,000,000 ; the -whole country and 
many European cities respond quickly and nobly 
to the cries for relief. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 307 

1872. Col. James Fisk, Jr., is sliot in the Grand 
Central Hotel building, New York, by Edward S. 
Stokes, 6 Jan., and dies two days later, aged 37. 

Gov. Warmouth, of La., in his message to the 
Legislature, 8 Jan., charges enormous frauds 
upon the House of Representatives and its 
Speaker, Col. Carter ; the Carter party withdraw 
and begin a movement for the removal of Gov. 
Warmouth and the seizure of the State House ; 
the Governor places all the military and police 
force of the State under the command of Gen. 
Longstreet ; Carter calls upon the people to arm 
and rally at the Clay statue, 1 1, but the insurrec- 
tion is checked by a notice from Gen, Emory, U. 
S. A., that he will interfere in case of a riot. 

Congress passes a bill creating the Yellowstone 
Valley, in Montana and Wyoming Territories, a 
national park, 27 Feb. 

The reduction of the public debt from i March, 
1869, to I March, 1872, amounts to 1363,697,000. 

The National Liberal Republican Convention 
assembles in Cincinnati, O., i May; Hon. Carl 
Schurz is chosen permanent president ; the plat- 
form calls for civil service reform, a judicious 
system of taxation, and the speedy resumption of 
specie payments ; on the sixth ballot, Horace 
Greeley, of the iV<i?c£/ York Tribune, is nominated 
for President ; Gov. B. Gratz Brown, of Mo., is 
elected candidate for Vice-President ; the nomi- 
nation of Mr. Greeley being deemed injudicious 
by many Reprblicans, the disaffected ones hold a 
meeting in New York, 30, and nominate William 
P. Groesbeck, of Ohio, for President, and Fred- 
erick L. Olmstead, of N. Y., for Vice-President. 

James Gordon Bennett, founder and proprietor 
of the New York Herald, dies, i June, aged 77. 

The regular National Republican Convention 
assembles in Philadelphia, 5 June ; Hon. Thomas 
Settle, of N. C, is chosen permanent president ; 
the platform insists on the most complete equality 



3o8 HAND BOOK FOR 

in the enjoyment of civil, political, and public 
rights, and that Congress and the President have 
fulfilled an imperative duty in the ir measures to 
suppress the treasonable organizations in the 
lately rebellious States ; President Grant is re- 
nominated by acclamation; and on the first 
ballot, Hon. Henry Wilson, of Mass. is elected 
■candidate for Vice President. 

The Geneva Tribunal reassembles, 15 June ; it 
holds its final session, i4vSept , when its decision 
is rendered, awarding the U. S. $15,500,000 in 
liquidation of the Alabama claims and tbose 
arising from the depredations of other Anglo- 
Confederate vessels. 

The National Democratic Convention is held 
in Baltimore, 6 July ; Hon. James R. Doolittle, of 
Wis., is chosen permanent president; the con- 
vention adopts the Liberal Republican platform, 
and nominates Messrs. Greeley and Brown. The 
Extreme Democrats hold a convention in Louis- 
ville, Ky., 3 Sept., and nominate Charles 
O'Conor, of N. Y., for President, and John Quincy 
Adams, of Mass., for Vice-President ; both candi- 
dates subsequently refuse to serve, 

Hon. William H. Seward dies at Auburn, N. 
Y. , 10 Oct. , aged 70. 

The Presidential election takes place, 5 Nov.; 
Grant and Wilson receive 3,592,984 popular and 
300 electoral votes, and Greeley and Brown, 2,- 
833,847 popular, equal to 74 electoral votes. 

Gen. George G. Meade, the hero of Gettys- 
burg, dies, 6 Nov., aged 56. 

Boston is visited by a conflagration, 9 Nov., 
which burns over 60 acres of ground, and destroys 
property of an estimated value of $75,000,000. 

Horace Greeley dies in a private msane retreat, 
29 Nov., aged 61. 

Edwin Forrest, the great tragedian, dies in 
Philadelphia, 12 Dec, aged 66. 
1873. William M. Tweed is placed on trial on an 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 309 

indictment for violation of duty in auditing 
fraudulent claims against the city of New York, 
8 Jan.; the jury fails to agree, 30; a second trial 
opens, 13 Nov., and he is found guilty on 204. 
counts, 19; Judge Davis sentences him to 12 
years imprisonment on Blackwell's Island and to 
pay a fine of $12,705. 

Congress passes a bill to abolish the franking 
privilege, 22 Jan., to take effect i July. 

An amendment to the appropriation bill, offered 
by Mr. B. F. Butler, providing that on and after 
4 March, the President shall receive a salary of 
$50,000 per annum ; the Vice-President, $10,000; 
the Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court, 
$10,300; the Associate Justices, each, $10,000; 
the Cabinet Officers, each, $10,000 ; the Speaker 
of the House, $10,000 : and the Senators, Repre- 
sentatives and Delegates, including those of the 
42d Congress, each, $7500 ; besides the actual 
expense of travel from residence to Washington 
at the beginning and close of each session, i& 
adopted in the House, 24 Feb. and the Senate, i 
March. 

A political riot breaks out in New Orleans, I 
March, and the police and military fire upon the 
rioters in Jackson Square. 

Gen, Grant is again inaugurated President, 4, 
March ; he selects his secoud cabinet as follows : 
Secretary of State, Hamilton Fish ; Secretary of 
the Treasury, William A. Richardson ; Secretary 
of War, William W. Belknap ; Secretary of the 
Navy, George M. Robeson; Secretary of the 
Interior, Columbus Delano : Postmaster- General, 
John A. J. Creswell ; and Attorney-General, 
George H. Williams. 

The White Star Steamer Atlantic strikes upon. 
Marr's Rock, off Nova Scotia, at an early hour, 
I April, and becomes a total wreck ; of the large 
number of passengers, officers, and crew on- 
board at the time, 429 are saved and 547 lost. 



3IO HAND BOOK FOR 

During a peace talk in the lava beds of Oregon 
between a number of Modoc Chiefs and the U. 
S. Commissioners, ii April, the Indians, under 
Captain Jack, suddenly attacked the Commission- 
ers, kill Gen. E. R. S. Candy, U. S. A., and the 
Rev. Dr. Thomas (Commissioner), and seriously 
wound Commissioner Meacham ; a military ex- 
pedition is sent against the Indians and the 
leaders are captured ; Captain Jack, Black Jim, 
Boston Charley, and Schonchin are hanged at 
Fort Klamath, Ore., 3 Oct. 

Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase dies sud- 
denly in New York, 7 May, aged 65 ; Congress 
holds funeral ceremonies over the remains in the 
Senate Chamber, 11. 

Jay Cooke & Co., bankers of New York, fail, 
18 Sep., with heavy liabilities ; a financial panic 
is precipitated ; the New York Clearing House is 
forced to suspend ; the Secretary of the Treasury 
comes to the aid of the banks by purchasing gov- 
ernment bonds ; the presidents of all the banks 
meet in council to devise ways of relief Presi- 
dent Grant comes to the city, but declines to 
accede to the bankers' request to aid the banks 
with the Treasury balance of 1:44,000,000; runs 
are made on banks and private bankers, and 
many strong houses fall during the ensuing ten 
•days. 

The Evangelical Alliance of the World, on the 
invitation of the American branch, holds a ses- 
sion in New York, 1-12 Oct.; the distinguished 
foreign delegates are received by the President, 

15- 

The Cuban war-steamer Virginius, under com- 
mand of Capt. James Fry, which left New York 
for Cuba, 8 Oct., is captured by the Spanish 
steamer Tornado, 31 ; the officers and 175 volun- 
teers are taken to Santiago de Cuba, where Gen. 
W. A. C. Ryan, Bernabe Varona, Pedro Cespedes, 
and Jesus del Sel are tried, convicted, and shot 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 311 

for piracy, 4 Nov.; Capt. Fry and 36 of the crew 
are shot, 7 ; 12 more suffer the same fate, 8 ; and 
57, 10 ; the news of the capture produces great 
rejoicing in Havana and intense indignation in 
the U. S. The Government puts a strong naval 
force into commission, whereupon Spain agrees 
to surrender the Virginius and the remainder of 
her crew ; this is done, 16 Dec, and while the 
vessel is being conveyed to New York, she sud- 
denly sinks off North Carolina ; the survivors are 
given a great reception by their compatriots 
upon their return. 

The French steamship Ville du Havre, with a 
large passenger list from New York, collides 
with the British ship Loch Earn, 23 Nov., and 
sinking, carries down 226 persons. 

Prof Louis J. R. Agassiz, the eminent scientist, 
dies at Cambridge, Mass., 14 Dec, aged 67. 
1874. Hon. Morrison R. Waite is appointed and 
confirmed Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme 
Court, 21 Jan. 

Ex-President Millard Fillmore dies at Buffalo, 
N. Y., 8 March, aged 74. 

Hon. Charles Sumner dies at his residence in 
Washington, 11 March, aged 63, after enjoining 
Senator Hoar not to let the Civil Rights Bill fail ; 
funeral ceremonies are held in the National Capi- 
tal and at the State House, Boston. 

Little Charley Ross is mysteriously abducted 
from his father's residence in Germantown, 
Penna.,i July ; his father spends a large fortune 
searching for the missing boy, but never learns 
of his fate. 

An immense number of the citizens of New 
Orleans assemble around the Clay statue, 14 
Sep.; a committee is appointed to request Gov. 
Kellogg to abdicate ; upon his refusal, the White 
League troops are posted about the city, and the 
metropolitan police and the State troops are 
marched into line of battle ; the White Leaguers 



312 HAND BOOK FOR 

attack the police, driving them through the 
Custom House, in which Gov. Kellogg, Collector 
Casey, and other officers have taken refuge ; on 
the following morning, the White League 
pickets find the Capitol abandoned and take pos- 
session. On orders from Washington, Gen. 
Emory, U. S. A., takes possession of all the cap- 
tured property, and notifies Gov. Kellogg, i8, 
that he is prepared to restore him to his office. 

John D. Lee, the leader of the Mormons in the 
Mountain Meadow massacre, in 1857, is captured, 
I Nov.; he is lodged in jail at Beaver, Utah, and 
indicted for murder. 

Hon. Ezra Cornell, founder of Cornell Univer- 
sity, at Ithaca, N. Y. (cost |7oo,ooo), dies, 9 Dec, 
aged 67. 

James Lick, of San Francisco, deeds his immense 
estate to a board of trustees, and charges them 
to devote $700,000 to the erection of an observa- 
tory ; 1300,000 to found and endow the California 
School of Mechanical Arts ; |250,0C'0 to the erec- 
tion of a group of bronze statuary, representing 
the history of the State ; $100,000 to the building 
of an Old Ladies' Home in Sun Francisco ; 
$150,000 to the building and maintenance of free 
baths ; $150,000 to the erection of a bronze monu- 
ment to Key, the author of the " Star Spangled 
Banner ; '* $25,000 in gold to the Protestant 
Orphan Home, San Francisco ; $25,000 to found 
an Orphan Home in San Jose ; and $10,000 to 
the purchase of scientific works for the Me- 
chanics' Institute, San Francisco. 

The national expenses for the year are $287,- 
133,873; the debt is $2,251,690,468 ; the imports 
are $595,861,248 ; and the exports, $693,039,054. 
1875. The State House at New Orleans is guarded 
by police early in the morning of 4 Jan., the day 
appointed for the opening of the Louisiana Legis- 
lature. The Democrats charge frauds upon the 
Returning Board, and the Republicans charge 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 313 

intimidation upon the Democrats ; Mr. Wiltz is 
chosen chairman, against the protests of the Re- 
publicans, who attempt to withdraw, but are 
prevented ; in the afternoon, Gen. De Trobriand 
enters the House with U. S. troops, and Mr. 
Wiltz and several members, who claim to have 
been irregularly seated, are taken into custody 
and marched out of the Hall ; the Democratic 
members then withdraw and the Republicans 
proceed to effect an organization ; in the mean- 
time, a second Congressional Committee, consist- 
ing of George F. Hoar, William A. Wheeler, 
William P. Frye, and Samuel P. Marshall, is 
sent to New Orleans, 2 Jan. Mr. Wheeler pro- 
poses a plan for adjusting the difficulties, to the 
effect that the Assembly will not disturb the State 
Government, but accord Gov. Kellogg all legiti- 
mate support, and that the House as constituted 
on the award of the committee shall not be 
changed ; the plan is accepted, twelve members 
excluded by the Returning Board are admitted, 
a conservative Speaker is chosen, and both 
branches of the legislature proceed to work. 

Samuel J. Tilden is inaugurated Governor o£ 
New York, and pledges himself to an administra- 
tion of reform, Jan. 

Senator Sherman's Bill, providing for the re- 
sumption of specie payments on i Jan., 1879, is 
passed in both Houses, and approved by the 
President, 14 Jan. 

Ex-Presideni: Andrew Johnson is elected U. S. 
Senator from Tenn., Jan., and dies, 31 July, 
aged 67. 

A civil suit is begun against William M. Tweed 
iu New York, to recover 16,198.950, April; he is 
discharged from his cumulative sentence, 22 
June, and immediately re-arrested and held to 
bail in ^15,000 on a criminal suit and in J^3,ooo,- 
000 on the civil suit ; he escapes from the officers 
of the Ludlow Street Jail, while on a visit to his 
house, 4 Dec. 



^14 HAND BOOK FOR 

Archbishop John McCloskey is invested with 
the berretta of a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic 
Church, in St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, 
27 April. 

Hon. Henry Wilson, Vice-President of the 
U. S., dies at Washington, D. C, 22 Nov., aged 
62 ; funeral services are held in the rotunda of 
the National Capitol and at Natick, Mass. Hon. 
Thomas W. Ferry, of Mich., President /)r<9 tcm. 
of the Senate, becomes Acting Vice-President. 

William B. Astor dies in New York, 24 Nov., 
aged 83. 

Hon. M. C. Kerr, Democrat, is elected Speaker 
of the House at the epening of the 43d Congress, 
6 Dec. 
1876, The House of Representatives' Committee 
on Expenditures in the War Department, having 
had its attention directed to the alleged abuses 
in the management of the Post-tradership at 
Fort Sill, I. T., compels the attendance of Caleb 
P. Marsh, of New York, who had received the 
appointmeht in 1S70 ; he acknowledges the reg- 
ular payment of money to Gen. Belknap, the 
Secretary of War, in consideration of the ap- 
pointment. The Committee summons the Sec- 
retary before it (i March), when he confesses the 
truth of the statements ; he personally tenders 
his resignation to the President, 2 March, and it 
is immediately accepted. The same day the 
Committee ask the House for his impeachment, 
and a committee is accordingly appointed and the 
Senate notified. The Secretary is arrested and 
released in 125,000 bail, 8 March ; he v/as tried 
by the Senate on the House charges and his own 
confession, and acquitted by a vote of 35 to 21, 
I Aug. 

The Centennial Exhibition in Fairmount Park, 
Philadelphia, is officially opened, 10 May. Theo- 
dore Thomas's famous orchestra leads the cere- 
monies ; Bishop Simpson, of the Methodist 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 3^5 

Epivscopal Church, offers a prayer ; the President 
of the Board of Finance formally presents the 
buildings to the U. S. Centennial Commission, 
by whose President, after the singing of Sidney 
lyanier's Cantata, they are presented to the Presi- 
dent of the U. S., who declares the exhibition 
opened. President Grant and the Emperor of 
Brazil then start the gigantic Corliss engine, and 
all the machinery in the vast place moves. The 
buildings cover a space of 75 acres, and aggregate 
190 in number, including the five grand struc- 
tures and the buildings of the States and Terri- 
tories and foreign nations, representing a cost of 
^4,444,000, of which ^1,500,000 were loaned by 
the U. S. Government. The Exhibition closes 
10 Nov.; it has been visited by 9,786,151 persons, 
of whom 7,897,789 paid $3,761,607; the largest 
attendance on any day was on 28 Sept., when 
274,919 persons passed the gates. 

A determined warfare against the Sioux In- 
dians is begun early in June ; Gen. Crook attacks 
them on Rosebud River, 17 ; a camp of 2000 
lodges on the Little Horn is attacked, 25, when 
Gen. Custer, his two brothers, a nephew, and 
brother-in-law, with 305 officers and men are 
killed. Gen. MacKenzie surrounds the camp of 
Red Cloud and Red Leaf, capturing the whole 
force without a shot, 23 Oct.; the next day, Gen. 
Crook assembles the Indians at the Red Cloud 
agency, deposes Red Cloud, and proclaims 
Spotted Tail chief of all the Sioux. Gen. Mac- 
Kenzie captures a hostile Cheyenne village of 
200 lodges, with 500 warriors, 25 Nov. 

William Cullen Bryant is presented with a 
memorial vase of hammered silver, valued at 
^5000, by his friends, in New York, 20 June. 

A. H. Wyman is nominated and confirmed as 
Secretary of the Treasury, 20, 29 June. 

The Democratic National Convention meets in 
St. Louis, 28 June, and organizes by electing 



3i6 HAND BOOK FOR 

Hon. John A. McClernand permanent president ; 
Messrs. Samuel J. Tilden, N. Y.; Thomas F. 
Bayard, Del.; William S Allen, Ohio; Judge 
Joel Parker, N. J.; and Gen. W. S. Hancock, 
U. S. A., are proposed for the Presidential nomi- 
nation ; on the first ballot, Mr. Tilden receives 
403 votes in a total of 817, and before the result 
of the second ballot is announced, his nomina- 
iion is made unanimous. Hon. Thomns A. 
Hendricks, of Indiana, is nominated for Vice- 
President. 

William M. Tweed, after his escape from the 
officers in New York, goes to Cuba, and sails 
thence in the Carmen, for Vigo, Spain, 27 July ; 
on entering the harbor of Vigo, the Carmen is 
boarded by the Governor, 6 Sep., and Tweed is 
arrested ; the Spanish Government agrees to 
return him to the U. S. without the usual forn)ali- 
ties, and he sails on the U. S. S. Franklin, then 
homeward bound, 26 ; he arrives in New York, 
23 Nov., and is at once lodged in jail ; in the 
meantime, Sheriff Brennan is punished for ne- 
glect in permitting the escape. 

Colorado is admitted into the Union as a State, 
4 July; John L. Routt, its first Territorial Gover- 
nor, is elected first Governor of the State, Oct. 

The Secretary of War, upon the order of the 
President, instructs Gen. Sherman to dispose of 
the available troops in such a manner as to pre- 
vent and punish fraud at the polls on election 
day, 15 Aug. 

The President declares South Carolina to be in a 
state of insurrection, and orders troops sent there 
to preserve the peace at the elections, 17 Oct. 

The State and National elections are the most 
exciting of any ever held. Federal troops are 
plentifully scattered throughout the Southern 
States, and strong forces are congregated in 
Washington, D. C. and in New York City. In 
South Carolina, Gen. Wade Hampton, Democrat, 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 317 

and Daniel H. Chamberlain, Republican, are de- 
-clared elected Governor, and both are sworn in 
as such ; the State has a dual Legislature, with 
two speakers trying to preside at the same time, 
and the members of its Returning Board are 
arrested and committed to the Columbia jail. In 
Ivouisiana, both political parties invite prominent 
gentlemen of the North, and the President sends 
a committee to witness the counting of the votes 
by the Returning Board; while another Presi- 
dential Committee is appointed for a like service 
in Florida. The popular vote in the Presidential 
•election, 7 Nov., according to the official returns, 
is : Tilden, 4,284,265 ; Hayes, 4,033,295 ; Cooper, 
81,747; Smith, 9522 ; giving Mr. Tilden a popular 
majority over all others of 157,397 votes. The Re- 
turning Boards give Mr. Hayes 185 electoral votes, 
and Mr. Tilden 184; the votes of Florida, lyouisi- 
ana, and South Carolina, given to the Republi- 
cans, are disputed by the Democrats. The year 
closes on the greatest political tension ever 
known in the country, with the leaders of both 
parties urging forbearance. 

Congress meets, 4 Dec. ; Hon. Samuel J. Randall, 
Penna. , is elected Speaker of the House over Hon. 
James G, Blaine ; a number of bills proposing a 
more satisfactory method of counting the electo- 
ral votes for President and Vice-President are in- 
troduced in both Houses, but there is an aversion 
to action until the Visiting Committees return 
from the South and report. 

During a performance of ** The Two Orphans ** 
in the Brooklyn (N. Y.) Theatre, 5 Dec, a fire 
breaks out on the stage ; a terrific panic is 
created : the building is entirely destroyed, and 
over 300 persons lose their lives by burning, suflFo- 
cation, or being crushed in the stampede ; the 
remains of 100 unrecognized bodies are buried in 
one large grave in Greenwood Cemetery. 
1877. Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt dies at his 
residence in New York, 4 Jan., aged 82. 



5l8 HAND BOOK FOR 

Messrs. Nicholls (Dem.) and Packard (Rep.) are 
each inaugurated Governor of Louisiana, at New 
Orleans, 8 Jan.; the Democrats gain possession 
of all the public buildings except the State House, 
9, and during that week the Democratic Legisla- 
ture gains large accessions from the Republican 
body. lu accordance with President Hayes's 
"Southern Policy," theU.S- troops are officially 
withdrawn from service in the city, 24 April. 

Both parties in Congress compromise, in the 
matter of the disputed electoral returns, in an 
arrangement which takes shape in a bill provid- 
ing for the appointment of an Electoral Commis- 
sion, which decides in favor of the Republicans. 

President Hayes appoints Frederick Douglass, 
the well-known colored orator, U. S. Marshal 
for the District of Columbia, 19 March. 

John D. Lee, convicted for complicity in the 
Mountain Meadow messacre of emigrants by 
Mormons, is executed by shooting on the scene 
of the tragedy, 23 March. 

After a conference with Gen. Wade Hampton 
and David H . Chamberlain, both claiming to have 
been legally elected Governor of South Carolina, 
the President orders the withdrawal of U. S. troops 
from Columbia, 2 April ; the troops march out 
of the city, 10, and Mr. Chamberlain surrenders 
the Governor's office and the papers to General 
Hampton. 

Gen. U. S. Grant, accompanied by his wife 
and one son, leaves Philadelphia for an extended 
tour 17 May. He is received with honor every* 
where. 

The business centre of Galveston, Texas, is de* 
stroyed by fire, 8 June, involving a loss of ^i,- 
525,000. 

Right Rev. Bishop Littlejohn lays the corner- 
stone of the Cathedral of the Incarnation, a 
memorial of the late A. T. Stewart, at Garde» 
City, L. I., 28 June. 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 319 

In consequence of a reduction of 10 per cent 
in wages, the engineers, firemen, conductors, 
brakemen, switclimen, and other employes of 
the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad go on a strike, 
I July ; by the close of the week, the strike ex- 
tends to the New York & Erie, the Pittsburg, 
Fort Wayne & Chicago, the Pittsburg, Cin- 
cinnati & St. Louis, the Pan-Handle, and Penn- 
sylvania Central Railroads. State troops are 
called out in Maryland, Ohio, West Virginia^ 
and Pennsylvania, and Federal troops in West 
Virginia. Engagements between the strikers- 
and their friends and the soldiers occur in Balti- 
more, 20, in which several persons are killed and 
a large number wounded, and at Martinsburg, 
West Va. In Pittsburg, Pa., the troops have 
encounters, 17 and 21 ; on the latter day, the 
strikers capture a car filled with coke, saturate 
the mass with petroleum, and igniting it, push 
the car to the Round House, which soon becomes 
a mass of flames with all its contents ; between 
200 and 300 lives are lost at Pittsburg, 125 loco- 
motives are destroyed, and 3500 cars are burned. 
Bloody riots occur in Chicago, 25, 26, that of the 
second day being a pitched battle in which artil- 
lery is freely used. By the close of the second 
week, the strike extends to all the northern 
roads, and six States are under arms, the troops- 
being used in protecting property and attempting 
to move trains. During the second week, the 
backbone of the strike is broken, and compro- 
mises between the railroad officials and the dis- 
afiected employes lead to a gradual reopening of 
traffic, the withdrawal of the troops, and the 
return of 84,000 railroad men to duty. The 
Pennsylvania Railroad suffered more severely 
than any other, its losses at Pittsburg alone ag- 
gregating ^12,000,000, for which it subsequently 
sues the county. 

Brigham Young, President of the Church of 



320 HAND BOOK FOR 

Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, dies at Salt 
Lake City, Utah, 29 August, aged 76. 
1878, Samuel Bowles, for many years editor and 
proprietor of the Springfield (Mass.) Republican^ 
dies, 1 6 Jan., after a lingering illness. 

The U. S. Senate, after rejecting the free 
coinage clause and providing for a conference of 
the Latin Union States to fix a common ratio 
between the values of gold and silver, passes the 
Bland Silver Bill, 16 Feb.; the House concurs in 
the amendments, 2 1 ; the President vetoes the bill, 
and both Houses pass it over the veto. 

William M. Tweed dies in Ludlow Street Jail, 
New York, 12 April. 

A bill to repeal the bankrupt law passes the 
House, 25 April, by a vote of 206 to 39, and the 
Senate, 10 May, by a majority of 5; the bill takes 
effect, I Sept. 

Thomas A. Edison, announces that he has 
at length discovered a method of dividing the 
electric current and its light indefinitely, and 
has perfected a practical system for lighting 
dwellings and public buildings by means of this 
current. 
£879. The Hon. Morton McMichael, of Philadelphia, 
"father of Fairmount Park," and editor of the 
North American^ dies, 6 Jan., aged 72. 

A bill providing for the payment of arrears of 
pensions, having passed both Houses of Congress, 
is signed by the President, 25 Jan. ; the lowest 
■estimate of the amount required to pay all claims 
under it is ^80,000,000. 

A bill to restrict the immigration of Chinese to 
the U. S., by making it unlawful for the master 
of any vessel to bring to this country more than 
fifteen Chinese passengers, which has passed the 
House after a heated debate, is passed in the 
Senate, 15 Feb., by a vote of 39 to 27; the Presi- 
dent vetoes the bill, i March, and Congress fails 
to pass it over the veto. During the debate in 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 321 

the Senate, 14, Senator B. K. Bruce occupies the 
chair, being the first colored man who sat oflfi- 
cialiy in the seat of the Vice-President of the 
U. S. 

Congress meets in extra session, 18 March. 

Gen. John A. Dix dies at his residence in New 
York, 21 April, aged 81. 

Both Houses of Congress pass a bill prohibiting 
the use of federal troops on election days, May ; 
the President vetoes it as conflicting with his 
constitutional prerogatives and as nullifying the 
laws of 1 792; the bill fails to pass the veto. 

Henry C. Carey, the foremost American polit- 
ical economist, dies at Philadelphia, 13 Oct., 
aged 86. 

Maj.-Gen. Joseph Hooker, U. S. A., dies sud- 
denly at Garden City, L. I., 32 Oct., aged 64. 

Hon. Zachariah Chandler, U. S. Senator from 
Michigan, is found dead in bed in a hotel in 
Chicago, I Nov., aged 66. 
1880. Contrary to general expectation, the I/Cgisla- 
ture of Maine is organized at Augusta, 7 Jan., 
without bloodshed, but not without scenes of 
great excitement. Gen. Chamberlain assumes 
control of all the public property and institu- 
tions, 9, promising to hold them for the people 
until Governor Garcelon's successor is legally 
elected and qualified. 

The Republican National Convention meets 
in Chicago, 2 June ; Senator George F. Hoar, of 
Mass., is choson permanent president. The 
platform is adopted, 5, and the first ballot for a 
presidential candidate is taken, 7, with the fol- 
lowing result : U. S. Grant, 304 ; James G. 
Blaine, 284 ; John Sherman, 93 ; George F. 
Edmunds, 34 ; Elihu B. Washburne, 30 ; and 
William Windom, 10. The 36th and final ballot 
is taken, 8, when Gen. James A. Garfield, of Ohio, 
is nominated, he receiving 399 votes to 307 for 
Grant, 42 for Blaine, 3 for Sherman, and 5 for 



322 HAND BOOK FOR 

Washourne. Gen. Chester A. Arthur, of New 
York, is nomiuated for Vice-President on the 
first ballot. 

The Democratic National Convention assem- 
bles in Cincinnati, 22 June. The New York 
delegation present a letter from Samuel J. 
Tiklen, positively declining to allow the use of 
his name in connection with the Presidential 
nomination. Hon. John W. Stevenson is elected 
permanent president, and the Tammany Hall 
delegation from New York are rejected. On the 
third ballot, 24, Gen. Winfield S. Hancock, 
U. S. A., is nominated for President, receiving 
705 out of 738 votes, and Hon. William H. 
English, of Ind., is nominated for Vice-President 
on the first ballot. 

The Presidential election takes place 2 Nov.; 
the returns show a popular Republican vote of 
4,459,921; Democratic, 4,447,888; Greenback, 
307,740 ; and Prohibition, 10,305 ; the electoral 
votes are : Republican, 214; Democratic, 155. 

Postmaster-General James begins an investiga- 
tion into the alleged " Star-Route" frauds in the 
conveyance of the mails, March. He issues an 
order forbidding any increase of service or com- 
pensation oa any of the mail routes without his 
sanction, depriving his assistants of the power of 
granting increases at discretion. The publication 
of the manner in which the Star-Route service 
has been " expedited " creates a great sensation, 
Gen. Thomas J. Brady, Second Assistant Post- 
master-General, under these exposures, resigns, 
20 April; J. h. French, one of his clerks, is 
removed, 26; and Mr. McGrew, the Sixth 
Auditor of the Treasury Department, who has 
had charge of the Post Office accounts, resigns, 
2 June; the prosecution of the Star-Route case 
is placed in the hands of the Attorney-General, 
who is assisted by W. A. Cook, of Washington, 
D. C, Benj. H. Brewster, of Philadelphia, and 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 323 

(after the accession of President Arthur) George 
BHss, of New York ; the case is dismissed by 
Judge Cox, 10 Nov., on the ground that the pro- 
ceeding by information cannot be sustained. 

Prof. Henry Youle Hind, of Windsor, N. S., 
an authority on the subject of the Canadian fish- 
eries, creates an excitement, April, by appealing 
to the British Foreign Office for permission to 
substantiate his charge of fraud and forgery pre- 
ferred against the Canadian officials who pre- 
pared the Canadian statistics on which the Hali- 
fax Fishery Commission made the award of 
$5>5cio, 000 against the U. S. 

Charles J, Guiteau, a disappointed office-seeker, 
attempts to "remo''"^*' President Garfield by 
assassination, in the waiting-room of the Balti- 
more & Potomac Railroad Depot at Washing- 
ton, D. C. As the President is about taking the 
cars to spend a few days with his sick wife at 
Long Branch, N. J., 2 July, Guiteau fires two 
shots at him, one of which takes effect; he is im- 
mediately arrested and lodged in the District 
Jail ; and letters found in his pockets show that 
he has premeditated the murder of the President. 
The wounded President is removed to the White 
House, and several physicians and surgeons 
make an examination of his injuries and pro- 
nounce them liable to terminate fatally wnthin a 
few hours. The intelligence produces consterna- 
tion throughout the country, and all preparations 
for the celebration of the 4th of July are aban- 
doned. The surgeons in attendance are : Drs. D. 
W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward and 
Robert Reyburn, of Washington, D. C.;the chief 
nurse is Mrs. Dr. Edson, of the same city ; and 
Drs. Hayes Agnew, of Philadelphia, and Frank 
H. Hamilton, of New York, are summoned as 
consulting surgeons. Amidst the prayers of 
Christendom for his recovery, the condition of 
the President improves and relapses by turns 



324 HAND BOOK FOR 

until the close of August, when it is determined 
to remove him from the malarial influences of 
the national capital to the ocean-purified shore 
of Long Branch. A special train is prepared 
and the journey is made, 6 Sep., the distance be- 
ing covered in aboiit 7 hours, or at the rate of 55 
miles per hour. He stands the transit well, and 
becomes cheerful when placed in a room in the 
Francklyn Cottage facing the ocean. While ap- 
parently recovering with rapidity, he is suddenly 
seized with chills, 16, which last until the morn- 
ing of 19, when even the confident Bliss abandons 
hope ; at 10 o'clock that night he awakens from 
a sound slumber, complains of a severe pain 
around his heart, and expires 10.35, after an 80- 
day struggle for life, in the 50th year of his age. 
The remains are taken from Long Branch, 21, 
and lie in state in the rotunda of the Capitol at 
Washington until 23, when funeral services are 
held. They reach Cleveland, Ohio, 24, and lie 
in state in a memorial pavilion erected on Monu- 
ment Square until 26, when public funeral cere- 
monies are held, and the body is temporarily 
placed in the receiving vault of Lake View Cem- 
etery. A few moments after the death of the 
President, the members of the Cabinet at Long 
Branch notify Vice-President Arthur, in New 
York, of the event, and urge him to take the oath 
of oifice without delay ; this oath is accordingly 
administered to him at his residence by Judge 
John R. Brady, between 2 and 3 o'clock on the 
morning of 20 Sep. The new President hastens 
to Washington and makes a call of condolence 
upon Mrs. Garfield. He issues a proclamation 
designating 26 Sep. — the day of the funeral — as a 
day of fasting and prayer throughout the 
country. 

Guiteau, in his ceP, attempts to murder one 
of his guards, William McGill, 7 Aug. He is 
fired at by one of his guards, Sergeant John 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 325 

Mason, 13 Sep. He is indicted for murder, 7 
Oct., and brought to trial before Judge Cox, 14 
Nov., in the Supreme Court of the District of 
Columbia. The prosecution is conducted by U. 
S. District Attorney George B. Corkhill and 
George M. Scoville appears as counsel for the 
defeuse ; the trial is continued during the re- 
mainder of the year, resulting in Guiteau's con- 
viction. ,^. ^ 

Hon. Ambrose E. Burnside, soldier, Governor, 
and U. S. Senator, dies suddenly at Bristol, B. L, 
13 Sep., aged 57. 
1882. Congress passes an anti-Polygamy bill, 
drafted by Senator Edmunds, of Vt., 22 
March, which provides for the punishment of 
polygamy by fine and imprisonment upon con- 
viction, and also for the disfranchisement of 
polygamists. 

Henry W. Longfellow, the world-popular poet 
and man of letters, dies at Cambridge, Mass., 24 
March, aged 75. . ^ , r ^t. 

Jesse James, the notorious desperado ot the 
West, is killed by the Ford brothers, at St. Joseph, 
Mo., 3 April, . ^ o n • 

Guiteau, the assassin of President Garfield, is 
hanged at Washington, June 30. 

Philadelphia celebrates the bicentennial of the 
Landing of William Penu, 22-27 Oct. 
1883 Hon. Edwin D Morgan, war Governor of 
New York, dies in New York City, 14 Feb., aged 
72 ; his will bequeaths |795.ooc) to various chant- 
able and educational institutions. ^ ^ , 

The Grand Jury of Washington, D. C, finds 
indictments against Gen. Brady and ex-Senator 
Kellogg of La., for complicity in the Star- Route 
frauds, 27 March ; the taking of evidence in the 
new trial closes, 12 April The jury bring in a 
verdict of not guilty as indicted, 14. . ^ , 

The great suspension bridge, spanning the East 



326 HAND BOOK FOR 

River from New York to Brooklyn, is formally 
opened, 24 May. Designed by John A. Roebling, 
C. K., work upon it was begun 3 Jan., 1870, and 
prosecuted, after the death of Mr. Roebling, 
under the direction of his son Washington A. 
Roebling, C. B. The total length from the City 
Hall, New York, to Sand Street, Brooklyn, is 
5989 feet ; the length of the main span is 1595)4 
ft., the towers are 2767^ feet high, and the floor 
of the bridge at the centre is 135 feet above high- 
water mark ; each cable is 1534^ inches in diame- 
ter and is composed of 5000 wires each one- 
eighth inch in diameter ; the total cost is about 
^15,500,000, which is borne equally by the two 
cities. 

At the close of the fiscal year, 30 June, there 
are 303,658 pensioners on the Government rolls, 
of whom 198,648 are army invalids, 74,374 army 
widows, minor children, and dependent relatives, 
2468 navy invalids, 1907 navy widows, minor 
children, and dependent relatives, 4831 survivors 
of the war of 18 12, and 21,336 widows of men w^ho 
served in that war ; the amount of all the pen- 
sions 13132,245,192.43; the total amountpaidon 
pension account during the fiscal year was $60,- 
064,009.23, nearly one-half of which was for 
arrears. The reduction in the interest-bearing 
debt during the yearis|;i25,58i, 250, which secures 
a permanent annual reduction in the interest 
charge of ^5, 923,401 ; the annual charge on 
interest account is now $51,436,709, a reduction 
of $99,541,291 in 18 years, during which the prin- 
cipal of the debt has been reduced $1,205,340,364. 
The total coinage at the Philadelphia Mint dur- 
ing the year amounts to 80,691,282 pieces, valued 
at $21,483,759. 

Dr. J. Marion Sims, the great surgeon and 
founder of the Women's Hospital in New York, 
dies, 13 Nov., aged 70. 
1884. Cincinnati has a three days' reign of mob rule 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 327 

and terror, (28-30 March) ; the trouble originates 
in the maladministration of justice, the particu- 
lar case being the rendition by a jury of a verdict 
of manslaughter against William Berner in the 
face of the clearest evidence convicting him of 
the brutal murder of William Kirk. The mob 
first attack and fire the jail, and then burn and 
gut the Court-house in spite of the presence and 
bullets of the militia ; 42 are killed, and 120 
wounded. 

May : Failure of James R. Keene, who is 
said to have lost a fortune of I4. 000,000 ; in the 
following week, the Marine Bank, of which 
James D. Fish is president, fails with heavy lia- 
bilities ; this causes the suspension of the firm 
of Grant & Ward, in which Gen. Grant is sup- 
posed to be a silent partner, almost immediately, 
with liabilities estimated at $8,000,000; and the 
Metropolitan Bank succumbs, (14). General 
Grant is induced to borrow ^150,000 of Wil- 
liam H. Vanderbilt, for one day, but the money 
is received too late to save the bankrupt firm. 
The General mortgages all his property to Mr. 
Vanderbilt, and is said to have lost his entire 
savings. A relief fund is at once started for his 
benefit, Mr. Vanderbilt generously offering to 
cancel the General's indebtedness to him for 
Mrs. Grant's benefit, but the General and his 
wife decline. Fish and Ward are subsequently 
arrested, and locked up in Ludlow Street jail. 

The National Republican Convention is held at 
Chicago, convening 3 June ; Blaine and Logan 
are nominated. 

The Arctic relief squadron, consisting of the 
Bear, the Thetis, and the Alert, which sailed from 
New York in May under command of Commander 
W. S. Schley, U. S. N., to rescue Lieut. A. W. 
Greely, U. S. A., and the members of his scientific 
expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, find Lieut. 
Greely, Sergeant Brainard, Sergeant Fredericks, 



328 HAND BOOK FOR 

Sergeant Long, Hospital-Steward Bieberbeck, 
and Private Connell alive near the mouth of 
Smith's Sound, 22 June ; Sergeant Ellison is 
among the survivors, but he dies shortly after 
the rescue ; all the rest of the party are dead. 
The relief squadron reaches Portsmouth harbor 
on the return, 1 Aug., where the Secretary of the 
Navy, with several war-vessels, is in waiting to 
greet the survivors. 

The National Democratic Convention is held at 
Chicago, opening 8 July ; Cleveland and Hen- 
dricks nominated. 

The Presidential election is held 4 Nov. , and 
results in the election of Messrs. Cleveland and 
Hendricks. The Democratic ticket receives 
4,911,017 popular and 219 electoral votes 
1885. A bill to place Gen. Grant on the retired list 
of the army is passed in the Senate, 14 Jan., but 
is lost in the House, 16 Feb. ; the House passes 
the bill 4 March. 

President Cleveland withdraws the Nicaragua 
Canal and Spanish reciprocity treaties from the 
Senate for further consideration, 12 March. He 
issues a proclamation, 13, warning all white 
settlers off the Oklahoma country, Indian Terri- 
tory. 

James D. Fish, president of the suspended 
Marine Bank, of New York, and secretly con- 
nected with the firm of Grant and Ward, is found 
guilty on charges of misappropriation of funds, 
II April, and is sentenced to 10 years' imprison- 
ment, at hard labor, at Sing Sing, N. Y., 22 June. 

Ferdinand Ward is indicted ; he pleads not 
guilty, 5 ; is tried, convicted, and sentenced to 
10 years' imprisonment at hard labor, at Sing 
Sing, N. Y., I Nov. 

A diplomatic understanding is effected between 
the U. S. State Department and the British 
Minister at Washington for the extension of the 
privileges secured by the fishery clause of the 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 329 

treaty of Washington throughout the season now 
opened, official notice of which is given, 25 June. 

Gen. U. S. Grant, ex-President of the U. S., 
dies at Mt. McGregor, N. Y., 23 July, aged 63. 

The first session of the 49th Congress is opened, 
7 Dec; Hon. John Sherman, of Ohio, is elected 
president /»r<7 tent of the Senate, and Hon. John 
G- Carlisle, of Ky., Speaker of the House. 

Senator Hoar's Presidential Succession Bill 
is passed by the Senate, 17 Dec. 

Congress votes a pension of $5000 per annum 
to the widow of ex-President Grant, 18 Dec. 

Prof. John C. Draper, of New York, dies, 20 
Dec. 
1886. Senator Hoar's Presidential Succession Bill 
is passed in the House by a vote of 183 to 77, 15 
Jan., and is approved by the President, 19. 
1886. The House passes a bill to increase the pen- 
sions of widows and dependent survivors of 
Union soldiers from |8 to |i2 per month, i Feb . 

Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock, U. S. A. com- 
manding'the Military Department of the Atlantic, 
and one of the most striking figures in the civil 
war on the Union side, dies on Governor's Island, 
New York, 9 Feb., aged 62. 

Hon. Horatio Seymour, ex-Governor of New 
York, dies at Utica, 12 Feb., aged 75. 

John B. Gough, the famous temperance orator, 
dies at Frankfort, Penna., while on a lecturing 
tour, 17 Feb., aged 68. 

The U. S. Senate passes a bill appropriating 
$25,000 for a monument to ex-President Grant, 
to be erected in Washington, 23 Feb. 

President Cleveland sends a message to the 
Senate, i March, forcibly stating his views as to 
the right of that body to demand from the Ex- 
ecutive the various papers considered by him in 
connection with removals from office, claiming 
that all such information is of a strictly confi- 
dential character, to be used only for the benefit 



330 HAND BOOK FOR 

of the country as an aid to the Executive in dis- 
charging his duty in the matter of appointments 
and removals. The Senate, under the lead of 
Senator Edmunds, decides by a majoi-ity of i, 
that it has the right to call for all such docu- 
ments. 

The U. S. Senate passes the Blair Educational 
Bill, which provides for an appropriation of 
j|579,ooo,ooo to be distributed among the States 
on the basis of the illiteracy of persons over lo 
years of age, except in the cases of the white 
and colored schools, where it is to be distributed 
on the basis of illiterate persons of school age, 
5 March. 

A general order is issued, taking eflfect 6 
March, directing the Knights of Labor to boycott 
the Gould Railroad System in the southwest ; as 
a result fatal conflicts between the striking rail- 
road men, on the one side, and county officials 
and State militia, on the other, occur at Fort 
Worth, Texas, i April, and East St. Louis, 9. 
Boycotting is resorted to very generally through- 
out the U. S. during March and April, the 
Knights of Labor ordering the majority of work- 
ingmen to strike for increased wages, shorter 
hours, or both. 

An eight-hour demonstration is made by 40,000 
workingmen in Chicago, i May ; the anar- 
chists parade the streets with red flags, indulge 
in incendiary language, and, precipitating a riot, 
explode a dynamite bomb, with fatal effects, in 
the midst of the police. The mob is repressed, 
15, and a number of the most violent anarchists 
are arrested, and charged with the murder of 
the police officers, and with inciting to riot. 

Hon. Grover Cleveland, President of the U. S., 

is married to Miss Frances Folsom, by the Rev. 

Dr. Byron G. Sunderland, in the Executive 

Mansion, Washington, D. C, 2 June. 

-J Most Rev. James Gibbons, Roman Catholic 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 331 

Archbishop of Baltimore and Primate of the 
Church in the U. S., is created c. Cardinal in the 
consistory of 17 June, and is solemnly invested 
with the berretta in his cathedral, 30. 

Samuel J. Tilden, ex-Governor of New York, 
and Democratic candidate for President in 1876, 
dies at Greystone, his country seat on the 
Hudson, near Yonkers, N. Y,, 4 August, aged 72, 

The amount paid by the U. S. Government 
for pensions during the year ending 30 June is 
$63,797,831, to 365,783 pensioners. 

Eight of the Chicago anarchists are found 
guilty of murder (20 Aug.); 7 are sentenced to be 
hanged, and one to be imprisoned for life. 

An earthquake shock is felt throughout a large 
part of the U. S., east of the Mississippi (about 
10 p. m., 31 Aug.). It is particularly severe at 
Charleston, S. C, where many buildings are 
destroyed and sixty-one persons are killed. Other 
shocks take place during September and Octo- 
ber ; a large part of the city is destroyed, millions 
of damage being done, and thousands of people 
rendered homeless. Subscriptions for their relief 
are taken up all through the United States. 

Geronimo and a number of Apaches surrender 
(4 Sep.) to Gen. Miles, in Skeleton Canyon, 
Arizona, and are imprisoned at Fort Marion, St. 
Augustine, Fla. 

Bartholdi's statue of "Liberty Enlightening 
the World," on Bedloe's Island, N. Y. Harbor, 
is formally unveiled with imposing ceremonies, 
including a grand naval parade and a procession 
on land (28 Oct.). 

Chester Alan Arthur, Ex-President of the U. 
S., dies at N. Y. City (18 Nov.), aged 56. 

Gen. John Alex. Logan, G. A. R., senator from 
Illinois, dies at Washington, D. C., (26 Dec), 
aged 60. 
1887. The Rev. Henry Ward Beecher dies in Brook- 
lyn (8 Mar.), of apoplexy, aged 73. 



332 HAND BOOK FOR 

1888. Election of the Republican candidates, Ben- 
jamin Harrison, President and Levi P. Morton, 
Vice-President. 

1889. May 31. The Johnstown Flood, caused by the 
breaking of a reservoir embankment during a 
severe freshet. An avalanche of water, half a mile 
in width and nearly forty feet in height, swept 
through the Conemaugh Valley, Pennsylvania, 
at the rate of two miles and a half in a minute, 
and $io,ooo,coo of property was destroyed, and 
the loss of life was Variously estimated from 
2280 to 5000 persons, mostly women and children. 

1890. McKinley bill passed, followed by a Demo- 
cratic tidal wave. 

The Sioux Indians of the Northwest become 
restive, and believe that a Messiah is coming to 
restore the Indians to control of their ancient 
domains. In December an attempt to disarm the 
Indians at Wounded Knee resulted in a battle in 
which two hundred were killed, including many 
Indian women and children. 

1891. Serious dispute with Chili owing to an attack 
on United States seamen by a mob at Valparaiso. 
Chili hesitates to give redress, whereupon the 
American fleet is ordered to prepare for an emer- 
gency. Chili finally makes apology and offers 
indemnity. 

1892. The Presidential campaign, with Harrison 
and Cleveland again opposed to each other on 
the tariff issue. 

Serious riots occur at Homestead, Pennsylvania, 
•vera dispute as to terms of employment between 
the Carnegie Company and its workingmen. The 
operatives quit work, and upon an attempt being 
made to land a number of strangers as alleged 
deputy sheriffs a battle ensues in which a number 
•were killed and wounded. The militia are or- 
dered out, and martial law proclaimed at Home- 
stead. Order is at length restored. During the 
excitement an anarchist from the vicinity of New 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 333 

York who had no connection with the strikers, 
attempted to assassinate Mr. Frick, chairman of 
the Carnegie Company, m his office, and wounded 
him, but not fatally. 

October. The World's Columbian Exposition 
dedicated at Chicago, but not opened until the 
following year. 

November. Election of Cleveland and Ste- 
venson, and another Democratic tidal wave. 
1893. Revolution in Hawaii, the Queen overthrown 
and a Provisional Government established, whick 
at once proceeds to negotiate for annexation to 
the United States. A treaty to that effect is sub- 
mitted to the Senate by President Harrison. 

President Cleveland recalls the Hawaiian 
treaty, but his object in doing so does not be- 
come public until November. He sends the 
Hon. James H, Blount, of Georgia, as Commis- 
sioner to Hawaii. 

Repeal of the ^berman Silver Purchase Act at 
special session of Congress. 

President Cleveland makes an effort to secure 
the withdrawal from power of President Dole 
and the remainder of the Hawaiian Provisional 
Government and the restoration of tlie deposed 
Queen, Liliuokalani, otherwise known as "Mrs. 
Dominis," on the ground that the Queen's de 
position had been brought about through wrong- 
ful interference on the part of former United 
States Minister Stevens. The Provisional Gov- 
ernment refuses to surrender, and prepares to 
defend itself by force, if necessary. Thereupon 
President Cleveland adopts a less positive atti- 
tude, and the controversy gradually ceases. The 
Hawaiian policy of the President was warmly 
debated in the Senate and House. In the House 
the President was ostensibly indorsed ; in the 
Senate the President was not condemned, but a 
decided stand was taken in favor of American 
control over Hawaii and therefore in sympathy 
with the Provisional Government. 



334 HAND BOOK FOR 

The World's Columbian Exposition was 
opened in May of this year. All civilized and 
semi-civilized nations of the earth participated. 
The Exposition grounds on the lake front cov- 
ered more than a square mile, and contained 
numerous huge buildings, whose perfect propor- 
tions, classic architecture, and artistic arrange- 
ment made the White City famous throughout 
the world. The total cost of the Exposition was 
in excess of 131,000,000, and during the six 
months of its continuance the turnstiles recorded 
more than 21,000,000 paid admissions. 
1894. A source of much hardship had been the law, 
passed as an experiment some years ago, prevent- 
ing soldiers in the United States army from re- 
enlisting after ten years* service, as it resulted in 
driving worthy and valuable men out of the ser- 
vice. This law was therefore repealed ; and, in 
its place, it was enacted that : 

" Hereafter all enlistments in the army shall be 
for the term of three years, and no soldier shall 
be again enlisted in the army whose service dur- 
ing his last preceding term of enlistment has not 
been honest and faithful ; and in time of peace 
no person (except an Indian) who is not a citizen 
of the United States, or who has not made legal 
declaration of his intention to become a citizen 
of the United States, or who cannot speak, read, 
and write the English language, or who is over 
thirty years of age, shall be enlisted for the first 
enlistment in the army." 

The struggle over the Wilson Tariff Bill occu- 
pied the time of Congress. 

During the latter part of August, forest fires 
broke out in portions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, 
and Michigan, culminating, September i, in the 
partial or entire destruction of a number of 
towns. The loss of life was estimated at 650, and 
the loss of property at |i 2,000,000, exclusive of 
standing timber destroyed. The thrilling and 



AMERICAN CITIZENS. 335 

heartrending incidents of this vast and wide- 
spread calamity would furnish ample material 
for an entire volume. In a stretch ot territory in 
Minnesota, twenty-six miles long and fifteen 
wide, not a single human habitation was left 
standing. The smoke from the fires rendered 
navigation dangerous on all the great lakes ex- 
cept Lake Ontario. 

The most destructive forest fires previous to 
those above named, in the history of the country, 
occurred, the first in October, 187 1, in Wisconsin 
and Michigan, when 2000 persons perished in 
the flames, and inestimable financial damage was 
entailed; the second in September, 1881, in 
Michigan, when 300 lives were lost, together with, 
an immense amount of property. 

A large district in Texas, west of San Antonio^ 
was, late in October, swept by a flood, resulting; 
in the drowning of several hundred persons,, 
together with immense destruction of property. 
Half the houses in the town of Uvalde were 
swept away ; the town of D'hanis was completely 
submerged ; and thousands of cattle and horses 
perished. The weight of damage rests upon the 
Southern Pacific Railroad, estimated at ^1,200,- 
000. 

November. The Republicans swept the North, 
electing Levi P. Morton Governor of New York, 
and carrying nearly every State in which elec- 
tions were held. The victory is supposed to have 
been due chiefly to the depressing effect of tariff" 
uncertainty on business, and in New York in 
a large degree to the revelations of municipal 
corruption before the Lexow Investigating Com- 
mittee. 
1895. The leading event of American interest has 
been the uprising of Cuban republicans against 
the Spanish Government. Spain, doubtless, 
with a view of propitiating the United States, has- 
paid the long-pending Mora claim for damage 



336 HANDBOOK. 

to the property of an American citizen. Senti- 
ment throughout the United States, is strongly 
favorable to Cuba. 

In New York City much agitation has been 
caused by the enforcement of the law requiring 
saloons to be closed on Sunday. 

November. The Republicans carry nearly all 
the States in which elections are held, including 
Kentucky and Maryland. 



THE END. 



